


Silver Lining

by LuceTheGoose



Series: A Dragon Among Thieves [2]
Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Flirting, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 13:07:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17244767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuceTheGoose/pseuds/LuceTheGoose
Summary: Kaiya has now been in the guild for a few months and made a name for herself, yet she can't seem to break the frustrating and enigmatic Guildmaster.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [ Here's the playlist I made for this story, if you're interested :) ](https://open.spotify.com/user/samanthastroupe/playlist/5kWn2UhP8Ni3rdfnExsmQi?si=V4X6qo1GQv-cUs9zofJVnQ)

_22nd of Morning Star 4E203_

"You know you gotta talk to him about it, Kai."

Vekel dutifully handed the thief another mead before returning to wipe down the counter in the Ragged Flagon. Kaiya groaned in obvious displeasure at the bartender's words and took a sip of her mead as she nervously rolled her necklace around in her fingers. "I know, Veks. You're right. You usually are."

"You've been in the guild for almost 3 months and you're just now realizing that?" he beamed. "And stop calling me Veks. Do you have any idea how confusing that is?"

Kaiya rolled her eyes at her friend before responding. "You sure you want me to go back to calling you Vekel THE MAN?" She laughed and took another gulp of her mead as she taunted. "I don't recall you liking that very much."

He stared back at her, unprovoked. "You're stalling, Kaiya. Go talk to Mercer. I'll save your mead for you."

"Uggggggh fine!" she groaned as she rolled herself off the barstool, "but I'm finishing this mead first!" Bottle upturned, Kaiya gulped down the last of her drink before taking her leave from the counter.

"Drink all you want!" Vekel yelled behind her. "It's not going to make this conversation any easier!"

"Thanks for the pep talk, ass!" she shot back over her shoulder and made her way into the cistern.

She spotted the Guildmaster at his desk, dutifully pouring over the ledger as usual. The water cascading out of the pipes drowned out most of the noise in the room, but it was still more crowded than she would have liked. Mercer was always more tolerable when he wasn't surrounded by an audience. " _Oh well, here goes nothing,"_  she thought to herself as she approached the desk.

A few moments of silence passed without Mercer acknowledging her presence before Kaiya spoke. "You got a minute, boss?"

"What do you want?" he spat without looking up from his ledger.

Kaiya took a breath in through her nose to stop herself from getting aggravated at his tone. "I thought you would want to know about a proposition I was just given by the Jarl, that's all."

Mercer's head shot up to glare at her. "You have my attention. Spill it."

"The Jarl wants me to take care of the skooma operation in town," she replied with confidence, not breaking the eye contact she held with the Guildmaster. "I figured it would be a good move to have a member of the guild on the Jarl's good side."

"And why would we need the Jarl on our side?" his eyes narrowed at her. "We have Maven."

"Well, would it hurt us?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders in exasperation. "I mean, the more people in high places we have on our side the better, right?"

"And what would the payment be for this job?" Mercer questioned, straightening his posture and crossing his arms over his chest. "I hope you aren't wasting my time to ask about some foolish hero's errand."

"She said she'd pay me," Kaiya responded, matching Mercer's stance, "but more importantly, she said she'd make me her Thane."

"Thane!?" Mercer seemed genuinely surprised. "I thought you had to own property to be a Thane."

"Details," Kaiya joked, brushing off his question. "Let me worry about that. I am just trying to avoid trouble by unknowingly ruining one of Maven's underground operations or something. Plus, I thought you may be interested in the idea of having a Thane in your guild." The closest expression Kaiya had to innocence spread across her face as she gazed up at the Guildmaster, his face unchanging.

"Right. I'll get back to you on that." he stated coldly. "In the meantime, don't you have a job to do?"

"Ah I see," Kaiya smirked, "you must have a meeting with Maven tonight."

The responding scowl that spread across Mercer's face caused her stomach to drop. "Okay, that was apparently a dumb thing to say," she consented as her hands flew up in surrender. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"Then please," Mercer growled, his voice barely more audible than a whisper "tell me what you meant."

"I … I … I don't know. Can we just forget I said it?" her eyes shifted around the room.  _Why was it so hot in here?_

"No. I'm waiting."

"It's just…" she fidgeted with her hands as her mind raced to try to find the right words. "It's just.. I've noticed that you tend to be a bit on edge when you have a meeting with her. It seems like you don't want to deal with this right now, so I assumed that meant it was a Maven night." Her eyes shifted down to stare at her hands as she spoke, "I … I didn't mean it to be disrespectful. I honestly was trying to show support. I see now that it wasn't helpful. I'm sorry."

"You're right, it wasn't helpful" he responded, his voice emotionless, "but yes, I have a meeting with Maven tonight."

Her eyes shot up to meet his, surprised at his tame response. "Oh, well…" she was clueless as to what to say next. "Let me know if I can help?"

"You can help by doing your job and leaving the decision making to me."

"Right," she nodded at him, scrambling to make her exit. "I'll leave for Markarth first thing in the morning then. You know…"  _oh man this was awkward_  "for that job. For the silversmith."

He nodded, her answer seemingly enough for him to let her leave the conversation. But as she turned to go, he spoke. "Oh and one more thing."

"Yeah?" she whipped around nervously to face him.

"Don't ever call my meetings with her 'Maven nights' again." His tone was tense, leaving her confused at his reaction. She really seemed to hit a nerve with this one.

"Sure boss," she shot him a reassuring smile, trying to diffuse the tension, "no problem."

* * *

"Time for another, Veks" she ordered as she slammed her empty bottle back onto the counter. The bartender sighed heavily at her demand. "Time for another Veks, what?" he retorted.

"Time for another Veks, please?!" she pleaded, trying out her innocent impression once again. Vekel chuckled at her feeble attempt before placing a fresh bottle in front of her. "You're a pain in the ass, Kai."

"Shut up Veks," she laughed as she took her first sip, "you love me and you know it." The corners of his mouth turned up into a smile before letting silence fall between them.

"Care to tell me how it went with Mercer, or should I assume your increased mead consumption tonight is answer enough?" His gaze leveled with hers as he wiped out a clean tankard, breaking the silence.

"It actually wasn't horrible," she responded with a humorless smile. "It could have been worse. Then again, it could have been better if I hadn't brought up Maven."

Vekel grimaced at her answer. "Yeah Kai, I didn't think I had to tell you that he hated talking about Maven."

"Nah you didn't, I was just being dumb" she confessed, her eyes cast downward.

In all honesty, Kaiya never knew what was a sensitive subject with Mercer and what wasn't. She was trying to learn his mood swings, what would flare up his temper, but she didn't feel as though she had made much progress. Some days they seemed to get along, cracking jokes and having actual conversations. Other days he was brutal and severe, ever the authoritarian. She had just begun to put some of the pieces together and even that was spotty.

Vekel let the conversation die as the Flagon started to fill up with guild members returning from jobs or just ready for some socialization. Kaiya moved from the bar and made her way to one of the tables to sit with Delvin. This had become the routine over the past few months; when Kaiya was in Riften, she was in the Flagon. Have a few drinks with Delvin or Brynjolf, trade a few sharp barbs with Vekel or Tonilia or talk idly with Sapphire or Vex. Kaiya was usually one of the last stragglers in the bar every night but the reason why was not one she was comfortable with admitting to herself. She would say it was just her old friend mead that kept her down there, but she would be lying.

The truth was that on some nights, Mercer would join them in the Flagon for a few drinks. He usually didn't speak much and he rarely joined into the group discussion but on occasion, he would. There were nights when he told a joke or when he shared a story of a heist from his past. There had also been a handful of nights when everyone else was gone and Kaiya found herself alone with her Guildmaster when she had seen glimpses of the real Mercer. Not the Mercer from the cistern. Not the totalitarian Guildmaster. But the Mercer she had met over a year ago. Those nights, when he would shoot her that smirk of his over a joke she made or when he would taunt her with some dare, those nights were worth waiting in the Flagon for. Those nights stuck with her in a way her denial would never let her admit but yet there she would sit every night, hoping for another.

This was not the case tonight, however. Tonight she wanted to forget what was coming tomorrow. Tonight she needed a distraction.

"So where were you last night, Brynjolf?" she teased as soon as he walked into the Flagon. "I didn't see you here, so I assume you were enjoying your night off?" A grin spread across both their faces.

"Well lass," he began, taking a seat next to her at the table with Delvin. "Have you ever heard the phrase 'cat got your tongue'?"

"Ah so she is a Khajiit!" Kaiya exclaimed in triumph, "Vekel! You owe me 20 septims!" Vekel scoffed, "how about I just take it off your tab?"

"What tab?" Kaiya joked, "You owe me from last time too!"

"Kaiya, you made up for that debt like 20 minutes after we made the bet." Vekel laughed, "but go ahead Brynjolf, let's hear it."

"So there we were," Brynjolf began, standing to prepare for his story. "I've got her down to her smallclothes and I'm just in my trousers when we hear a noise. A cracking of a branch."

"Wait, you were outside?" Delvin chimed in. "Bryn how many times have we been through this? It never ends well when you venture outdoors."

"No, we were in a tent," Brynjolf corrected. "I mean outside technically I guess but still, there was a roof of sorts. So at least I learned my lesson from last time!"

Delvin just shook his head at his friend's risky behavior, prompting Brynjolf to continue. "So a twig snaps and I'm thinkin', 'aye someone's about to get a show!' but then I notice the look on her face and see she's panicking."

"Ah shit, Bryn." Now it was Vex's turn to interject. "Only you."

Brynjolf ignored her interruption. "I'm a gentleman, so I ask her what's going on, right?" Someone scoffed. "Hey! I AM a gentleman! Anyway, so I ask her what's wrong and she says 'oh, this one is in trouble now'" he gave his impression of a Khajiit accent. "Well, call me uncultured but I had no idea what in Oblivion that meant. Did she mean me? Or was she talking about herself? Was she talking about whoever made the sound? I didn't know, so I shrugged it off."

"See now Bryn, this is how you get yourself into these situations," Vex interjected again. "You do realize that, right? You do see that you did the worst thing you could have done by shrugging it off, right?"

"Whatever Vex," Brynjolf joked, "I was in the heat of the moment OK? A mammoth could have trampled through and I still would have asked to see under her smallclothes before we ran." Vex just rolled her eyes at his shamelessness.

"So anyway," he continued, "before I know what's happening, I'm being ripped out of the tent by the back of my trousers by a very angry kitty, who seems eager to strangle me to death. I assume my date is his wife so I start apologizing and telling him that I didn't know she was married. But that wasn't it. Turns out," he began to laugh, "it was his mother and he thought, well…" he laughed again, "he assumed she would have never allowed a Nord like me into her bed. She didn't seem to want to back up my side of the story, so I gave him the ol' 'did you hear that?' distraction before grabbing my shirt and running like the wind."

The room erupted in laughter and heckling while Brynjolf took a bow, once again entertaining the guild with another story of his lewd behavior.

"Your turn Kaiya." Brynjolf challenged, turning a chair at the table around to sit in it backwards. "Regale us with a tale of a time you had to call one short."

The game was on once again. Many a night the thieves traded lewd stories, challenging each other to top the last. Kaiya had never considered herself a prude and that did not change in the Flagon. She smiled at the prompt from the redhead before beginning a tale of her own.

"Well there was that one time that I almost banged Ulfric Stormcloak…" she teased, eyeing her audience for a reaction. Delvin grimaced. Vex groaned. Brynjolf was entranced. "Go on…." he urged.

"It was one of my first trips to Windhelm. He had actually invited me to come and meet his acquaintance," she bowed mockingly in false reverence. "Anyway, so we are hitting it off and he's not half bad so I think 'why not?' and make it clear that I'm down for the night if he is. And oh, he was."

Now it was Delvin's turn to groan, "blegh oh gods please tell me it wasn't his voice. Ladies love that fool's damn voice. I think he fakes it."

"Oh, Delvin. It was definitely his voice. What else did you think I was into? His blatant racism?" Kaiya joked. "And I should say in my defense that at this point in my… interaction… with Ulfric I had not seen the Grey Quarter so…" she was pandering, she knew it. "So I didn't really know how racist he was. But I digress!"

"So he tells me he is going to retire to his room and asks me to meet him shortly, but he needs to receive his nightly debriefing first." Kaiya threw a fair amount of cynicism into her words to show how little she had believed his statement. "I thought he was speaking in euphemisms. I was wrong. So wrong."

"Well he is fighting a war, Kai." Tonilia weighed in. "I'm sure it would have been safe to assume that leading a rebellion doesn't stop when he wants to get laid."

"Well… I know that now," Kaiya scoffed, "but this was when I was younger and considerably less educated." Tonilia rolled her eyes at her excuses.

"Anyway… so I wait a few minutes before making my way up to his bedroom." Kaiya stood for dramatic effect as her rendition of the story reached its climax. "As I walk in, I hear his second-in-command finish up his briefing. But then I notice Ulfric, and to this day I can't get this image out of my brain." Her audience was silent as they waited in suspense.

"There he was, sitting on the edge of his bed, butt ass naked!" Kaiya exclaimed, "but wait! That's not all. As soon as his little war buddy, whatever his name is, finished his update, Ulfric started yelling 'YEAH ULFRIC! YEAH ULFRIC!' and while pounding his fist into his chest like a damn troll." At this, everyone in the room erupted in laughter.

"I gotta give it to him though," Delvin squeaked out between fits, "he's got confidence. I should try that sometime, 'YEAH DELVIN! YEAH DELVIN!'" he mocked, pounding his chest.

"So yeah…. As soon as I saw that I turned around, walked out and never looked back," Kaiya concluded. "And that's the story of how I almost banged Ulfric Stormcloak."

The night carried on like this for a while longer, the thieves telling stories of their licentious pasts. They discussed close calls, times they had been caught, the most awkward places they had ever taken a lover - on and on. Kaiya told them all of the night she shared with the court wizard in Whiterun, to which Brynjolf shared his encounter with the Jarl's steward. Sapphire surprised no one with a recounting of an evening with Grelka and Delvin even jumped in to discuss his past poor decisions after too much mead.

"You ever been with a Khajiit, Kaiya?" Brynjolf asked. The conversation had somehow devolved into the thieves challenging each other on their adventures with different races.

"I can't say that I have," was Kaiya's reply. "I tried once with one of the caravanners, but he was a little too heartsick over some girl from Whiterun. Pity, really. What about you, Sapphire?"

"Yep. With a caravanner, actually" Sapphire bragged. "You missed out, Kai. She was definitely worth it."

"Rub it in, why don't ya?" Kaiya whined. "What about you, Vex?"

"Ah, Vex strikes me as a Nord only type woman," Brynjolf joked, trying to get a rise out of Delvin. Everyone knew how much the Breton pined after the Imperial.

"Ugh, please. Nords?" Vex groaned. "I've coughed up smaller furballs after going down on a Khajiit." The room went wild at her answer, laughing and taunting Brynjolf for losing that battle.

"That's right, Vex" Delvin teased. "Who needs a Nord when you could have a strapping Breton like myself?" Kaiya stood to give Delvin a high five, both of them chanting "Bretons! Bretons!"

Not to be left out, Vekel jumped into the conversation. "All right, let's see how 'cultured' you all really are then, shall we?" He looked around the room, challenging the thieves with his gaze. "We'll start easy. Raise your hand if you've ever been with a Nord."

All hands went up. "Please Vekel," Sapphire chimed in. "We're in Skyrim."

"I said I'd start easy!" he fired back. "Okay, what about an Imperial?" All hands raised once again.

At this, Vex started chanting "Imperials! Imperials!" to mock the Bretons' chant from a moment earlier. "No but seriously, best lay ever, am I right?" she joked. An awkward silence fell over the room at her question, with the exception of Delvin. "I'm sure it would be, love. I'm sure it would be."

Vekel, now the official moderator of sorts, continued. "Breton?" Fewer hands stayed raised at this question, to which Kaiya and Delvin jumped in to tease. "You don't know what you're missing, Tonilia!" Kaiya exclaimed. "Just think about what I could do with all this!" She moved her hands up and down her body as she spoke, causing Tonilia to scoff.

"Redguard?"

Vekel, although he had not raised his hand yet, shot his arm up in the air as high as it would go. The same thieves who had their hands raised earlier kept them up, singling out the libertines in the room. Sapphire took the opportunity to taunt Vekel. "Yes Vekel, we know. We all know." Groans of agreement joined her from around the room.

"Whatever, be jealous. That's fine," he joked. "Ok, now to the elves!"

"I feel like this is getting a little, fetishy" Vex commented. "I feel dirty talking about people by their race like this." Delvin, obviously excited by her use of the word 'dirty' replied, "I can make you feel dirtier later if you'd like, Vex." He followed up his offer with a wink to which she rolled her eyes.

"Hands up for Bosmer!" Vekel boomed as he took back control. Hands went up.

"All right, let's make this one interesting," Sapphire dared. "Who here has their hand raised because of a Bosmer in the guild?"

Everyone in the room shot their eyes around in curiosity to see who would take the bait. One hand remained raised, that hand attached to a grinning Brynjolf. The room erupted again.

"Was it Niruin!?" Tonilia yelled.

"Oh my gods, how was he?!" Kaiya asked.

"A guild member, Bryn!?" Vex judged.

Brynjolf just sat beaming, proud of his ability to disrupt the guild, lewd as they all were. Vekel did his best to get the guild back under control.

"Dunmer?" Hands shot up in answer, Kaiya raising both her hands as high as possible. Vex groaned, "yes Kaiya, we all know you've got a raging lady boner for the dark elves."

"As I should!" Kaiya replied. "Have you ever been with a Dunmer, Vex? No? Then you have no idea the power those red eyes can hold…"

Sapphire, raising the stakes once again, asked her a follow up question. "How many have you been with Kaiya?"

At this, Kaiya had to stop and think.  _How many had she been with?_  She started mumbling names under her breath as she counted them off, "Teldryn, Athis, Revyn…. Geldis… Erandur..." before finally settling on her answer. "Ten? No, Eleven? I could be wrong…"

"Wait, wait." Delvin interjected. "Did you say Erandur? As in the priest of Mara?"

Kaiya smiled sheepishly, "Maybe. Yes. Don't judge my life!" This earned her another high five from Brynjolf, her consistent companion in their peers' judgment.

"Aaaand high elf?!" Vekel yelled, trying to distract the conversation for Kaiya's sake. Four hands went up.

"Oh, and after I get back from Markarth," Kaiya joked with her hand proudly in the air, "I hope to have added another to that list. That Thalmor in the Keep's been on my list for a while now." This caused Delvin and Vex to both voice their displeasure.

"A Thalmor?! You really don't have a conscience do you?" Vex spat. Delvin's dissent was a little more caring, "Aw love come on now, no one should stoop to that level. He doesn't see you as an equal, you know that."

"Hey I'm not showing up in an amulet of Mara or anything," Kaiya defended herself. "I just want a few hours with him, that's all."

Vekel found himself deflecting the ire of the thieves away once again. "All right, all right. This one will be interesting. What about an Orc?"

Only two hands were raised: Kaiya and Brynjolf. Kaiya looked around in surprise, "really guys? Well that's depressing. That Orc was one of the best lays I've ever had."

Sapphire took the opportunity to self promote. "Which Orc? Wanna hook me up?" Kaiya shot her a wink and a nod before replying, "the Jarl's personal blacksmith in Markarth. Right there on his workbench." This declaration earned Kaiya yet another high five from Brynjolf before the game was interrupted by a new patron entering the Flagon.  _Mercer._

Kaiya did not need anyone to tell her who had just walked in. Whether it be from the reactions of others or just the strange otherworldly pull he had on her, she could feel it when he entered a room. It was as if someone sat on the edge of the air she was breathing, all her nerve endings sparking at the ripple in the atmosphere in the way she felt pulled towards his presence.

Kaiya's heart froze at the realization that this was the last conversation she ever wanted Mercer to overhear. She wasn't ashamed of her past, but she in no way wanted Mercer to get the wrong idea. What the wrong idea was escaped her at the moment, but she knew she didn't like the feeling of him knowing too much. Her mind scrambled to catch up to her current predicament, her fingers nervously spinning the ring she wore around her neck, trying valiantly not to give anything away with her facial expressions.

Mercer sauntered into the Flagon before taking up his preferred spot at the end of the bar. Vekel scurried away from the rest of the thieves to serve the Guildmaster, causing the room to fall silent. After being served his mead, Mercer looked over his shoulder at the thieves dispersed throughout the rest of the Flagon, all of them quietly watching his every move. He chuckled to himself at the apparent control he could exert over their evening without even trying before he made his first statement to his audience.

"You do realize it makes it more awkward when you get quiet when I enter a room, right?" He shook his head as he smirked. "No need to silence yourselves on my account. Continue." At this, he sipped his mead before diverting his attention away from the conversation. Kaiya was fully aware however that he seemed to be situated in a position in which he could still listen in if he wanted. Whether he chose to act on that or not was still a mystery.

Sapphire saw no reason to continue the silence after the Guildmaster so graciously urged them to continue. She turned her gaze to Kaiya to ask a question that had obviously been on her mind since before Mercer ever interrupted them. "So, Kai… would you say that the Orc was the best you've ever had?"

Kaiya's face blanched at the question, realizing she was in an awkward position. Either she answered and did exactly what she didn't want to do from the moment Mercer walked in, or she didn't, marking an obvious change in her behavior that could only be attributed to the presence of the Guildmaster in the room. She willed her mind to move faster in hopes that her pause wasn't too conspicuous before she conjured up a response.

"No," she answered honestly. "He was good, but he wasn't the best I've ever had."

This piqued the interest of a few others in the room, although Kaiya's attention was firmly on the profile of Mercer Frey, deciphering his every movement in hopes to see any reaction he might have to her confession. She tried not to keep her eyes locked on him, straining her peripherals to take in as much as possible.

Vex broke the silence and asked what many of them were thinking, "well then, who was the best?"

Either it was a result of the tankards upon tankards of mead that Kaiya had consumed that evening or because of the memories that flooded her mind once the question was asked but regardless of the cause, a lopsided smile slowly took over her face at the question. She knew the answer. Now she just had to figure out the best way to communicate it.

"It was a Breton, actually" she confessed, her eyes moving around the room so as to not leave them on Mercer for too long. She did see his head tilt slightly to the side however, indicating to her that he was listening. It seemed as though he wanted to hear where this would lead.

"You're just saying that because you're a Breton and you want us all to think you guys are best in bed," Tonilia argued. Before she knew what she was doing, Kaiya felt herself shaking her head in disagreement.

"No, I mean it. The best lay I've ever had was a fellow Breton." Encouraged by the smallest of movements from the Guildmaster, she continued. "He knew what I liked. He took control but not so much where I couldn't play too. He had confidence, but not too much where he didn't actively try to make sure I enjoyed it. He played a good game too, had me hook, line and sinker. It was fun."

If she had blinked she would have missed it - the smallest of smirks dancing across Mercer's face, barely visible from her view of his profile. His head was still positioned in a way that he could hear it all and she was certain he was hanging on to her every word. Her explanation was not enough for Sapphire however, who decided to push her for more details.

"Is that all you're going to give us? Do tell!"

Kaiya's lips curled involuntarily into a beaming smile before she looked down at her hands. Her pause must have brought Mercer some anxiety; he fidgeted in his seat as he awaited her answer.

"I'm sorry guys, but this is one I want to keep for myself." Her smile did not falter but grew larger as she watched Mercer's shoulders relax ever so slightly. The rest of the room looked at her in confusion - Kaiya was never one to hold back details. "What? I can't keep just one for me?" she asked, eyeing each thief in a silent plea for understanding.

Her plea must have been enough as they graciously let the conversation carry on. Tonilia jumped in and asked Brynjolf the same question to which he was happy to provide an answer. He described his encounter in detail, but Kaiya barely paid attention. Her heart thudded in her chest at all that had just transpired. When all eyes were on Brynjolf, her attention kept fluttering back to the Guildmaster who sat at the bar, eyes crinkling at the corners in obvious approval at her words.


	2. Chapter 2

_22nd of Morning Star 4E203_

As the night wore on, most of the thieves that had been wasting their time in the Flagon moved on to find a bed to crash into. Some slept in their own bed, others made their moves to find one with a partner. Kaiya remained firmly planted in her chair, too interested to see what may happen if she were to find herself alone with the Guildmaster, considering the events of the evening. Vekel made his way out, arm firmly draped around Tonilia's shoulders in a show of pride. Vex left through the false closet doors into the cistern, followed after a few moments by Delvin, who forced out a hurried goodbye before scurrying off. Kaiya and Mercer found themselves alone once again.

With the bravery only a night of drinking could provide, Kaiya stood and made her way to the counter where Mercer sat, facing forward and quiet. She plopped down on the stool next to him, both enjoying the silence for a moment before Kaiya spoke.

"Do they really think no one knows?"

Mercer lazily let his gaze drift over to the thief next to him, a quizzical smirk beginning at the corners of his mouth. "What do you mean?"

"Delvin and Vex. Do they not realize how obvious they are?" Kaiya chuckled once to herself as she shook her head. "I want to just shake them and tell them that no one cares."

"Ah, where's your imagination footpad?" Mercer replied, his voice deep and ragged from fatigue. One brow shot up as he continued, "it's a game for them."

Kaiya's eyes met her Guildmaster's, a devious smile spreading across her lips. "Can't say I blame them. I've been known to enjoy the game before myself." The implication hung in the air around them, neither needing to say a word to acknowledge it. Mercer didn't reply, which was no surprise. Maybe she was beginning to figure him out after all.

She stood on the rungs of her barstool to reach over the counter for another mead, her small frame stretched out as long as possible but the bottle remained just outside her range. A small laugh forced itself out of her chest as she turned her head to glare at Mercer who had not moved, eyeing her predicament with humor. "You just gonna sit there and mock me or will you help me out?" She became immediately aware of how close they were as she taunted him, heat rising to her cheeks in a traitorous blush.

"I have faith in you," he teased as he continued to watch her from his comfortable position on the barstool. To accentuate how little he planned on helping her, he took a sip of his mead and sighed with contentment. Her eyes narrowed at his response. "Really Mercer?! Get off your ass and help me out!" she cried in exasperation, her joking tone confirming that she was enjoying the game.

Without a word, he stood and instead of reaching over the bar and retrieving the mead for her, decided to grab onto her legs to support her weight as he dangled her over the bar. She shrieked at the movement, throwing her hands out to prevent what seemed like an inevitable fall. Realizing that he did not plan on dropping her on her face, she grabbed two bottles of mead as she laughed. "OK pull me up!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Did you say drop me?"

"No!" she cried, laughter present in her voice. He pretended to let go of her legs to scare her into thinking he was dropping her. "Ah! Mercer! Pull me up!"

"Pull me up, what?" he chided, thoroughly enjoying her current predicament.

"Pull me up, please?!"

"That's more like it," he said as he relented. "You just had to ask nicely."

As he helped her back over the counter, his hand found its way to her waist to steady her descent. The contact made the blush across her face deepen and she silently cursed her fair skin for being so fickle. He set her back down before they both returned to their stools, smiles still plastered on their faces and staring forward, neither daring to mention the palpable shift in the nature of their current situation.

Kaiya's thoughts were racing and the effects of the mead were not making it easier to shake them off. The silence started to become an unwelcome entity between them, both of them awkwardly hanging onto it as to not betray their pride. Surprisingly, Mercer was the one to break it.

"Maven gave the go ahead on your skooma mission, by the way."

It was an awkward transition; they both felt it. Drunkenly emboldened, Kaiya couldn't let it go. She sighed heavily before responding.

"And we were having such a pleasant evening," she scoffed. "Guess it's back to business."

Mercer bristled at her challenge. "Well considering how badly you seemed to want to play the hero earlier, I assumed you'd be waiting with bated breath to hear an answer."

Unfazed, she laughed as she shook her head at his rebuttal. "Well I appreciate your quick response, but I'd rather not think about Maven right now."

Mercer's expression soured at the mention of her name. "Then let's not."

Silence fell between them once again. The way he consistently reacted with such palpable hatred to any mention of Maven continued to plague her. What was it about that woman that angered him so much? Sure, she was an absolute terror, but Kaiya had assumed that she must have a less antagonistic relationship with the master of the guild. Perhaps not. Perhaps she had only seen a fraction of the monster that Mercer had to contend with regularly. The thought made Kaiya's heart soften a bit for the Guildmaster. She could only imagine what it was like to take the brunt of Maven's ire to spare the rest of them. The man could be cold and unyielding, but these were the thoughts that caused Kaiya to perceive him differently. He was a good Guildmaster, of that there was no question.

She hadn't realized she had slipped into her own head until Mercer's voice brought her out of her reverie, once again being the first to break the silence.

"Two bottles, huh?" he joked, trying to ease the tension. "One for each hand, I presume?"

Kaiya smiled at his jab, thankful for his effort to take the conversation in a deliberately more casual direction. "Well, considering my quest for more mead depends on whether or not you feel obliged to help me reach it, I figured I'd grab two while I had the chance." Smile still on her face, she took a sip from one bottle and then the other, making a display of holding them both. "Look at you, sitting over there with only one tankard like some maiden," her lips transformed into a wolfish grin as she shrugged. "I guess I've just grown out of that phase." Another sip.

Mercer exhaled a laugh at her taunt. "Said like a true drunkard, Kaiya." He shifted his gaze to meet hers, the smile in his eyes causing her heart to thud against her ribs. That look, that exact expression, was the one that threatened to push Kaiya into the dangerous territory of becoming absolutely smitten with the man. She hated him for it, his ability to cause her heart to race and her skin to flush, but try as she might she could not get it to stop. The way he had just casually used her name in conversation did not help the damn thudding of her heart either.  _Could he hear it?_ The blood pulsing through her veins seemed to pound in her ears, an audible reminder of her downward spiral into Oblivion.

They sat there, looking at each other, neither willing to escalate the moment by speaking. Kaiya stared forward, falling back on her old habit of nervously spinning her necklace in her fingers. She must have looked an obvious mess because it was apparent to her that he could tell exactly where her thoughts had gone. He didn't seem angered or even dismissive, but he also made it clear with his silence that this would be the end of it for the time being. As the tension in the room reached its peak, he stood and took a final sip of his mead as a clear gesture that he was calling it a night. "It's late," he commented as he turned to leave. "You have a job to do in the morning. I suggest you get some rest. We'll talk about the skooma job when you return."

Kaiya nodded at his words, her mind a whirlwind of trying to decipher what was left unspoken. Before he took his leave however, he asked "do you have everything you need for your trip?"

Her brows shot up in surprise at his question, a hint of caring present in his quiet words. A smirk flirted with the corner of her mouth before responding, her mind leaping in excitement at what she had just remembered. "Well, to be honest Guildmaster," she locked her eyes onto his to accentuate her playful tone, "you never paid me for my last job."

"Really?" he asked with a fair dose of skepticism. "That's convenient. And how much would you say I owe you?"

"You say that like you don't believe me, Guildmaster." For the third time that night, she tried her hand at appearing innocent. "I wouldn't lie to you about something like this. And you owe me 300 septims." She stuck her hand out to indicate she expected payment, her eyes never moving from his.

"Hmm," he hummed in thought. "And I'm guessing you want me to take you at your word?" Although doubtful, he nevertheless reached into his guild leathers to pull out his coin purse. "Here's 500," he stated, holding out the purse for her to take. This had to be a test.

"What? No, I'm not taking 500!" she exclaimed with false integrity. "I just need what you owe me, that's all."

A grin spread across his face, an indication that she passed whatever test he had been throwing her way. "You're right, you'd be gone for weeks if I gave you all that." He began counting out coins for her payment into his open palm. "Here's 200," his eyes took on a mischievous glint as he handed over the coin to her waiting hand. "I'll give you the rest when you return. That way you'll have to come back."

_Was she hearing this correctly? Was he flirting? Was he insinuating he wanted her to return?_  Not to muck up a good thing, she played along. "It's funny you think I'd return just for 100 septims."

"Oh so you're saying it's not about the coin then, is that right?" he joked. "That's good to know. I guess I can stop paying you then. In fact, give me that 200 back!" His hand lingered on hers as they traded barbs, the contact not going unnoticed by Kaiya. She snatched the coin from him before he could retract it, breaking their touch.

"I didn't say all that now," she said as she stuffed the coins into her own purse, "I'm just saying that it's funny that you think I'm only here for the coin." Her eyes dared him to top the subtle flirtation she laid out for him. He said nothing, his expression merely changing into a playful glare. They stayed that way for a moment, how long she was unsure. It was most likely only a few seconds, but to her it felt like hours. She had taken a chance and was now holding on to the hope his good mood gave her that he would play along. She wasn't disappointed.

"This is the Thieves Guild, Kaiya." He said her name again. She felt her pulse quicken. "If you're not here for the coin, what else keeps you here?"

He did it. He took the bait. Her inner celebration was short lived however, quickly realizing she had no idea how to respond. She hopped off of her barstool and faced him as they stood, trying to buy herself some time. Her mind raced.  _Come on Kaiya, don't muck this up…_

"The same thing that kept you at this bar tonight," she dared, leaning in closer to him to strike the final blow…

"Mead."

And with that, she turned and walked off, leaving the Guildmaster alone to ponder his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you notice the nod to Jane Eyre in there? If I'm writing a Byronic hero, I have to give an allusion to my favorite of all, Mr. Rochester :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We all learn why Kaiya hates Markarth so much.

_24th of Morning Star 4E203_

With a deep breath to calm her frayed nerves, Kaiya pushed open the ornate Dwarven doors that led into the city of Markarth. She was almost done. All she had to do was return the silver mold to Endon and she could leave this gods forsaken stone city and head back to Riften. It was later than she would have liked, the only light illuminating the marketplace from the torches of the guards and sconces decorating the walls. Her eyes darted around nervously in an effort to take in as much of her surroundings as possible. She willed herself not to reach for her necklace and readjusted her hood for the upteenth time to ensure only a small fraction of her face was visible as she made her way to the Silver-Blood Inn.

As soon as she pushed open the doors to the inn, she was reminded why she hated this city. A barrage of noise hit her at once - the barkeep argued with his wife, a drunk at the bar challenged anyone who would listen to a fight, the old Skald was singing songs about how wonderful Nords were. The smell of sweat and metal assaulted her senses, the unmistakable stench of drunk laborers that lined the bar. It may not have been that much different from any other tavern in Skyrim at the moment but to Kaiya, it all reaffirmed her need to get out fast. In order to keep up appearances, she stopped at the bar to order a mead, keeping her head turned so that none of the gawking smelter workers next to her would get a glimpse of her face. She used the opportunity while she waited to let her eyes roam around the room, seeking out the Redguard she was to be meeting here. Spotting him by the fireplace, she snatched the mead out of the barkeep's hands and tossed a few coins on the counter, shutting down the exchange as quickly as it had begun.

Endon noticed her as she approached and tried not to draw attention to himself for the sake of maintaining some level of privacy. When she was in earshot, he spoke. "Did you get it?"

"Yeah," she answered, her eyes not meeting with his in order to continue scanning her surroundings. Absently, she reached in her bag and pulled out the silver mold in question before practically tossing it to the smith. "You sure this is all you need? It was a pretty big haul."

And it was. Kaiya had been shocked when she had seen all the coin and gems sitting out in the bandits' treasure room. She could hardly comprehend how clients would forego asking for anything other than one specific sentimental item or in this case, a damn piece of smithing equipment. She usually guessed that those were the reasons she was the thief and they were the client, but it baffled her nonetheless.

"You found it!" Endon exclaimed with excitement, taking the mold into his hands as if it were a priceless artifact. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

Kaiya stared back at him in a wordless response. The lack of enthusiasm from the thief seeped into their conversation, causing the smith to feel a bit put off. Just like that, they both had the same goal of ending this transaction as quickly as possible.

"I appreciate you doing this for me," he said, his eyes meeting hers. "The guild can now count me as an ally in Markarth."

She nodded dismissively, "just doing our job." Her eyes began scanning the room again to prepare for her exit. The silversmith noticed her anxious behavior but thought better not to comment on it.

"In addition to your payment, I paid for a room for you for the night so you could get some rest." He gave her a soft smile before continuing, "it's the least I could do and I'm sure you could use a break."

"While I appreciate the gesture," Kaiya responded, her body language clearly disengaging from the conversation, "I actually have to get back on the road tonight." His responding blank stare held questions she was uncomfortable with answering, so she kept up with her explanation. "I'm needed back in Riften as soon as possible."

Endon continued to stare at her in confusion for a moment. "Are you sure? It's late. The roads in the Reach are dangerous at night."

Kaiya laughed humorlessly. "Well from what I remember of my last stay in this city, it's dangerous within the walls too." Her statement must have hit a nerve with the silversmith who looked down in concern.

"Well, I wish I could disagree with you" he spoke mournfully as he remembered some of the previous events they had witnessed in his city, "but I understand. Take care of yourself."

With a nod and a few words of thanks, she took her leave from the conversation. She scurried out of the inn, not even staying long enough to finish her bottle of mead she had purchased. Exiting the inn, her brisk walk led her straight to the ornate doors of the city once again in an effort to flee. Her eyes darted around and her heart raced as her sweaty palms grappled for the handle to the door. As soon as she stepped outside, she felt her shoulders relax and took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "Gods, I hate this damned city," she thought as she quickly made her way to the waiting carriage, its driver fast asleep at the helm.

"Kibell!" she whispered tensely, shaking his shoulder to wake him. "Kibell! I need a ride!"

The driver's eyes slowly opened, their first sight a rather panicked Breton. He looked around and rubbed his eyes as he slowly sat up, the last tendrils of sleep still holding on. "Kaiya?" he croaked out groggily, "What in gods name is going on?"

Kaiya bit her lip nervously in recognition of how this must have looked to the weary driver. "I need a ride, Kibell. I need to get back to Riften."

"Is something wrong?" he turned his body to look around him, verifying that the city was not on fire. "Why do you need to go in the middle of the night? Do you have any idea how dangerous these roads are at this hour?"

She sighed heavily at his words.  _What was it with these people and being so afraid of the dark?_ "Yes, I know Kibell, but you leave that to me." A reassuring smile crept across her lips as she squeezed his shoulder. "You know I wouldn't let anyone hurt us."

A blush spread across the cheeks of the driver, making Kaiya feel a tinge of guilt at using flirtation to get her way when he clearly had no desire to comply. "All right, all right," he consented as he grabbed the reins. "But why don't you sit up front with me?" It was his turn to flash a flirtatious grin as he pat the space next to him. "I wouldn't want to fall asleep on the drive and put us in danger. I bet you could keep me awake though."

Kaiya inwardly groaned at the situation she had gotten herself into, but the desire to get out of the Reach overruled any squeamishness she had towards the driver. If anything, this was one more reason why being able to fight dragons could have its upsides - if she could take down a dragon, a creepy man was nothing to fear.

* * *

The carriage trudged on through the night, winding through the rolling hills of the Reach. Despite the fear this area had over the inhabitants of Markarth, the ride had been uneventful. Kaiya had to fight off a couple of wolves at one point and they remained silent as they crept past a giant encampment, but that had been it. It had lured them both into a false sense of security. When an arrow came flying between both of their heads before embedding itself into the wood of the carriage, they were reminded that this area was indeed unsafe.

Before Kibell could even think of screaming in fear, Kaiya had sprung up and taken on a fighting stance. She turned, taking a glance at the arrow between them to try to identify their assailants.  _Forsworn_.

LAAS YAH NIR!

The shout detected the heartbeats of those who threatened the carriage, illuminating them in a red haze. There were six of them. She could handle this.

She decided to go for intimidation with the hopes that a very worthy fighter would at least give the Forsworn pause. In each hand, a vortex of purple swirled, preparing to conjure some backup.

With a crack, an Oblivion gate opened to the right of the carriage, another to the left.

"THERE YOU ARE, WEAKLING!" The conjured Dremora cried as he ran, weapon raised above his head, at four of the red blotches blinking across the hills.

To her left, the storm atronach rumbled to life, swiftly floating towards the hiding Forsworn. Sheer power flowed from the entity as it moved, crackling and booming with electricity as long, purple streaks lit up the night sky.

With her conjurations distracting the Reachmen, Kaiya took the opportunity to grab Kibell's shoulders and threw him to the floor of the carriage. "Stay down and whatever you do, do NOT try to be a hero right now" she warned as she jumped over the front of the carriage to rush towards the oncoming fight.

Her left hand glowed green as she called up an armor spell, the spell popping the air around her as it took form over her body. This was all too familiar to the thief, her mind finding its way into battle like it were muscle memory.

"They fucked with the wrong Breton tonight." She growled under her breath as her vision zoned in on the scurrying Forsworn, the familiar broiling heat of revenge taking over her nerves.

"Come out and fight me you fucking savages!" she screamed rabidly, her right hand unsheathing her sword as her left hand prepared to conjure a bound one.

Her provocation worked, a Ravager running full speed towards her down stone path ahead. Under her breath she growled, "you just wrote your own epitaph, asshole."

FUS RO DAH!

The Ravager did not have time to flee the oncoming Shout as it drove into his chest and sent him flying backwards. Kaiya conjured the sword in her left hand and picked up speed, running right for the stumbling Forsworn as he attempted to stand.

His last living sight was the feral face of a fellow Breton as she brought her sword down with a vicious strength, decapitating him in one blow. His head rolled down the embankment and to the feet of one of his comrades who watched in horror.

The spectator looked up at Kaiya whose full attention was now squarely on her. She panicked, freezing in place as Kaiya approached at full speed before her instincts kicked in and she met the charging Breton's blows with her own toothed swords, clanging of metal on bone ringing out into the night.

Kaiya took a step back, leading her foe into believing she was retreating before putting all of her force behind her foot, kicking it straight into the Forsworn's chest. Stumbling back and trying to catch her breath, she had no defence as Kaiya continued her onslaught.

ZUN HAAL!

With these two words of the Dragonborn's Shout, the swords held up in defence by the struggling Forsworn went flying from her grip and into the bushes behind. Panic stricken, the native looked up to her attacker with silent resignation, accepting the final blow with dignity. Kaiya planted both feet firmly before her, crossing both of her swords at the Forsworn's throat before slicing with a force that could only come from unbridled rage, the girl's head falling off of her shoulders and rolling to accompany her lifeless feet as her body crumbled to the ground.

Kaiya looked up to assess her situation, eyes darting around for her next adversary. She extinguished the bound sword in her left hand before casting her detect life spell, looking for any remaining threat that her conjurations had not handled.

There was one remaining. Recasting her armor spell and conjuring another bound sword, she charged towards the last living attacker. He sensed her presence, turning around to face her as he finished off the storm atronach. It was just the two of them now.

She pressed forward, teeth bared and eyes wide. He stood still, letting her make up the distance between them. She moved closer, and closer, so close in fact that he could make out her feral expression and see the hate emanating from her stare.

"Kaiya?"

Her approach came to a dead stop at the sound of her name.  _No. No it couldn't be._

"Hello Madanach, it's been a while." She stood firm, glare fastened on the old native's features.

"That it has, Kaiya. That it has."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several days away from the flagon has weighed on poor Kaiya, but it seems she's not the only one that noticed the separation. Flirtation ensues.

_26th of Morning Star 4E203_

Kaiya was jolted awake, her head knocking against the floor of the carriage as one of its wheels dropped dramatically into a hole in the road. While she would have preferred waking up in a less painful way, she was thankful that she was at least given a reprieve from her nightmares. They had plagued her quite often throughout most of the past six months, but the last week had been brutal. It was as though every time she closed her eyes she was met with the most torturous of visions, consistently waking in a panic and without providing her body with much rest at all. She rubbed the side of her head that had collided with the wooden planks while she tried to shake off remaining influence of the last nightmare that had been ravaging her mind. As her consciousness came back into focus, Kaiya was immediately aware of her location, not because of the trees or the mountains, but the overwhelming smell. They had made it to the Rift. A weak smile crept across her face as she breathed in the crisp pine scent that hung in the air. She was almost home.

She had always loved the Rift - the vibrant reds and yellows that adorned the white trunked trees, the warmth that seemed to reside in this corner of Skyrim alone as if it were exiled from the rest of the holds, the smell of the grass and plants as they were allowed to grow unimpeded by snow or ice. While she had always loved it here, it had just recently begun to feel like home. She felt herself grow excited at the thought that she would soon be back in the cistern with her fellow guild members, drinking and swapping stories of recent heists.

As she thought about what she had to look forward to, she became more aware of a slow, invading force from memories of what had transpired on the road. The memories made her stomach tighten, suddenly feeling as though it was sitting in her throat. The pleasant mood that arriving in the Rift had provided was now gone as thoughts of dead Forsworn and a horrified carriage driver flashed across her mind. She would have no stories to tell in the Flagon tonight.

The carriage groaned as it pulled up the hill to the stables outside of Riften, her driver turning to look over his shoulder to ensure she was awake. It wasn't Kibell that led them now but a new driver she did not quite know since she forced Kibell to return to Markarth after their little incident. She had snuck off when he wasn't paying attention after they rented rooms in the Vilemyr Inn, not wanting to force him to escort her any further. He had been through enough. Her new coach driver, whoever he was, was a graciously silent Nord who seemed to loathe small talk of any kind and for that, she was grateful.

She grabbed her bag and gave her thanks to the driver as her journey finally came to an end. Her feet on solid ground again, Kaiya took the opportunity to stretch out her tired, stiff muscles. What she wouldn't give for a warm bath. She'd have to settle for a few moments with a washbasin and a warm bed, but that seemed like a luxury to her now.

From the look of the sky around her, it was just after dawn. The ride from Markarth to Riften was painfully long, taking an entire day's time to make it one way. It had been three nights since she slept in a real bed and all she could think about was how thankful she was that the cistern was dark, cool and quiet in the morning. Ah, the thief life.

Her achy body climbed down the ladder into the cistern, all too aware of how badly she needed some rest. Just as she had imagined, the giant room was quiet except for the sound of cascading water. Her eyes habitually trained on the Guildmaster desk across the water to see it standing empty. No Guildmaster yet.  _Must still be asleep_ , she thought to herself. A smile crept up on her lips at the thought as she made her way into one of the makeshift sleeping areas to find a place to crash.

_Mercer sleeping_. Even tyrants with personalities larger than life need to sleep. It was little reminders like these that fueled her fascination with the Guildmaster; the everyday actions of normal people seemed so alien when she thought of Mercer doing them. These thoughts played in her mind as she cleaned off in a washbasin and took off her outer leathers before plopping into a spare bed. She lied there, staring at the stone ceiling and listening to the peaceful sounds of the water gushing from the walls as she imagined the Guildmaster stretched out in the same position somewhere else, fast asleep. Her heavy eyelids drooped and closed as she drifted off to sleep herself, with thoughts of meeting Mercer in her dreams. If only it worked that way.

* * *

"Kaiya! Kaiya wake up! Kaiya you're screaming!"

Kaiya sat up in a panic, eyes bulging and breath panting, her undershirt clinging to her small frame with sweat. As usual when this sort of thing happened to her, she had to take a few moments to anchor herself to reality before she could move on.

" _I'm in the cistern. I'm in a bed. I'm here with…_ " one of her tightly closed eyes opened just enough to see who had woken her, " _I'm here with Delvin. I'm safe. I'm not alone. Deep breath in, 2, 3 and out, 2, 3._ "

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Delvin's worried voice broke through her meditation. One of his hands gripped her shoulder as if that was the only tether keeping her on this plane. He wasn't completely wrong.

"I'm uh…" Kaiya's voice croaked in reply "I'm OK. Thank you." Her eyes still closed, she exhaled one last time before opening them and looking around herself. "Whew!" she laughed, awkwardly. "So give it to me straight Delvin, how much of an ass did I just make of myself?"

Delvin's eyes grew huge in surprise at her question. "An ass? Love, what's goin' on?"

She knew this would happen one day. She should be thankful it was just Delvin here and not all of the guild around her bed like worrying mothers. "I have nightmares, that's all" she replied, sitting up and throwing her casual tone into the mix in order to lighten up his mood. Her fingers betrayed her however, resorting back to their familiar nervous habit of spinning the ring she wore around her neck.

Delvin ran a hand across his bald head as he exhaled. "You had me worried there, love. You were screaming and thrashing and yelling for-"

"Enough!" Kaiya blurted out as she put her hands up to Delvin's lips to silence him. "I'm pretty aware of what I usually dream about Delvin, you don't need to make me relive it again when I'm awake."

He shot her a sheepish smile as her words sunk in. "Ah, sorry sweetheart. But you're OK?"

Now it was Kaiya's turn to be the comforter. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, an understanding smile on her lips. "I'm all right, thanks Delvin. It wasn't the first time and it probably won't be the last, but I appreciate you waking me up."

"You're not the only one haunted by your past, love. If you ever want to talk about it, I'll listen."

This completely altruistic offer from Delvin shot right to Kaiya's heart, causing tears to begin filling up her eyes, threatening to spill over. In an instinctive response, her arms shot out and pulled Delvin to her into a hug. She clung to him in desperation, in thanks, in fear, all pouring out of her through her vice like grip on her friend. He just sat quietly and returned her hug, one hand rubbing slowly up and down her back.

"Thank you, Delvin," she whispered in his ear, "Vex is a lucky woman."

She felt him stiffen before he let out a single laugh "I don't know what you're talking about, love. But I'll take it as a compliment all the same."

Kaiya laughed at his clumsy dismissal, "you're ridiculous, you know that?"

"We all are, sweetheart. You'd have to be to spend all your time in a godsdamned sewer. Now come on, let me buy you a drink."

They sat at the Flagon for a while, just the two of them, talking and swapping more stories as Delvin tried to get Kaiya to relax. When she told him that she hated Markarth he said she didn't have to go there anymore if she didn't want to, to which she told him she'd slice his balls if he babied her or denied her any jobs. They settled right back into the natural rhythm their relationship had formed over the past few months and Kaiya could not help herself but to think of how much had changed in her life. She had friends, real friends. She had a family again. This is exactly what she had needed. Now all she had left to accomplish was to let herself fall for someone instead of running away with a lame excuse and she might actually be doing a solid job of impersonating a well rounded adult.

As if on cue, Kaiya felt the air around her shift and grow heavier as the door to the Flagon flung open and the sound of boots on stone signified someone was entering. She couldn't stop herself from turning to meet his eyes when he walked in; it had been three days since she saw him last and she surprised herself with how much she had actually missed him being around. The thought made her gulp in fear until he turned the corner and entered the room and all of that just fell away.

His eyes caught hers, the green of them burning her from the inside as if his gaze were enchanted. She felt a chill run down her spine at the almost palpable spark that shot off as their eyes met. Her infatuation with him was getting a little out of hand, although she had to admit that lately it seemed like it may not just be her that noticed this connection. He felt it too. He had to. Otherwise, why was he smiling at her like that?

"You made it back to us, I see" his voice rumbled out of his chest towards her, a note of excitement barely audible in his tone. "I guess you'll be wanting your pay." He sat in his favorite stool but still faced the blushing Kaiya as he leaned back into the counter.

Kaiya smirked to match his playful stare, "well someone's up late tonight. You waiting up just to pay me for that job or is there something else keeping you up, Guildmaster?"

They stared at each other for a moment, both of them with stupid grins plastered on their faces and practically trembling at the electricity present in the room. Kaiya's eyes drifted from her Guildmaster's to Delvin's for a moment and the look on his face made her freeze. That look. A smirk with a raised eyebrow. It screamed  _I see what's going on here_. Kaiya felt her stomach drop just as Delvin shot her a wink before standing up to excuse himself "I'll be going but Kaiya don't worry, I'll pass that message along to Vex." Another wink.

At first Kaiya was completely confused by his statement before it clicked with his wink. He meant that he may see what's happening here, but her secret was safe with him. Because she knew about him and Vex. She felt like she could kiss Delvin at that realization. She would have to thank him later but for now, she was alone, once again, with her Guildmaster at the bar.

Kaiya lazily drug her bottle of mead off the table as she sauntered over to the bar to sit next to the smirking Guildmaster. His eyes didn't leave hers, watching her every move as she made her way towards him. As she sat, his smell overwhelmed her. It wasn't any stronger than it normally was but after not being around it for a few days, it stood out. Rain, stone and wet leather. The past three days had definitely changed their relationship.

"Miss me?" she shot him a smile that was more in her eyes than on her lips.

"No, I finally had some peace and quiet at the bar at night without someone here to disturb me." His words were cold but his eyes said otherwise, baiting her to fire back.

"Oh then by all means, O Sulky One, you may have your quiet and I will sit here in silence as I think of how to spend all that gold you're going to give me."

"I thought you didn't care about the gold." Not a question, but a statement, leveled at Kaiya with piercing eyes.

"What's that? I'm sorry I missed it over all the peace and quiet I was giving you." Her smile was downright sinful, taunting the Guildmaster. He just stared at her.

And stared. She tried to concentrate on her mead bottle to stop from laughing. He continued to stare. She finally broke with a laugh, "OK! You win, but you can't say I don't give you peace and quiet, ya ass!" She joked as she lightly slapped him on the shoulder.

A smirk was on his lips although the corners of his eyes showed the true nature of his smile. Kaiya took a final sip of the bottle of mead she had and sat her empty bottle on the bar.

"So I'm guessing it would be too much to ask you to help me get another bottle of mead?" She feigned innocence as she looked up at the Guildmaster through her lashes, meeting his humored gaze. He just shrugged and took a sip of his own mead before responding.

"Depends, what's in it for me?" His eyes threw all of the flirtation he could muster into the stare he leveled at her.

_Oh, so we're playing this game?_  She stood from the barstool, placing herself conveniently between the legs of the sitting Guildmaster before leaning towards him. Without a word, she took his mead from his hand and took a sip of it and slid back onto her stool, bracing herself with a hand on his thigh. She continued to face him as she sat, her frame still somehow wedged in between his legs.  _Your move, Guildmaster_.

Mercer's smirk grew at her blatant theft. He leaned over slowly, moving his face within inches of hers, and paused. Kaiya felt her heart pounding at the sudden closeness, a chill moving over her skin at the possibilities of what could happen next. With one arm bracing his weight against the counter, the other hand slowly moved across Kaiya's thigh, up higher and higher, until it settled on her hands holding the bottle of mead in her lap. He slowly slid the bottle out of her hands to accentuate what he was doing before sliding back comfortably into his own stool and taking a sip.

_Damn that man!_  Kaiya crossed her arms and furrowed her brow in displeasure at his stunt, causing Mercer to let a snicker escape out of him at the sight. She stood, still somewhat awkwardly positioned between Mercer's open legs as he sat on the stool.

"Well that's fine, I didn't need another anyway," she started to get her things to leave. "I have other things I could be doing."

With a barely audible chuckle, Mercer waited until she turned her back to him before he reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. She now was wedged between his legs once again, but her back leaned against his chest. She was close enough that his smell took over her senses, leather, oils and when she smelled his skin, water and stone. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders, holding her against his chest and leaned to speak directly into her ear. "Did I say you could leave yet, footpad?"

Her heart thudded wildly at everything that was happening around and to her - his smells, his arm holding her to him, the feeling of his voice rumbling out of his chest directly into her ear, it was almost too much. She let her hands come up and rest on the arm draped across her collarbone, almost as if this were a romantic pose.

"To quote my stubborn ass of a Guildmaster" she replied, turning her head to look straight at him. She could feel his breath hitting her face. She looked at his lips and back to his eyes before continuing. "What's in it for me?"

Mercer's eyebrows shot up and his smirk grew wicked, his arm around her tightening at her taunt. He could try to hide it all he wanted but in this close proximity, Kaiya knew it got to him. He leaned down to place his lips by her ear, causing the smallest of shivers to roll down her body at the feeling of his breath on her again.

"See this is where you're mistaken footpad," he growled into her ear, "nothing has to be in it for you. If I say you stay, then you stay, understood?"

Another shiver took over Kaiya's body, settling in her core. Her mind raced with accusations to convince herself that she was wrong for liking it.

"Well in that case," Kaiya turned towards him, "what's in it for you?"

She could feel his breathing grow heavier, the smell of mead dancing along her skin with each breath. She felt his grip tighten across her collarbone and his hand tighten on her shoulder where it rested, crushing her against his leathers. She felt his chest against her back, rising and falling with his heavy breaths.

"Was that a question or were you making me an offer?"

His forwardness caught Kaiya by surprise. He was spinning his web again, the one that tangled her up so completely that night so long ago. As much as she wanted to fall into it and let him have his way, she knew better. She couldn't let him win so easily. Time to step her game up.

She leaned into him, nuzzling into the crook of his neck and running her hands back and forth along his arm that held her pinned to him. With a few content sighs she knew she had him hanging onto her words. She went up onto her toes so she could reach his ear and whisper in it as he did hers.

"It's merely a question, Mercer. I'm far more curious than I am stupid. Make an offer to the Guildmaster? I'm no fool."

He let out a small chuckle that she felt reverberate in his chest and lowered his head into the crook of her neck, taking in her scent. His other hand, previously holding onto the bar for stability, moved to rest on her hip. Every cell in her body was alive, thrumming with excitement at his every touch. She was enveloped in him and while she should be fearful, she felt nothing but the thrill of where this was heading.

"That's a shame," he rumbled, his voice barely more audible than a groan. "I had half a mind to give you what you asked." His hand at her hip slid across her body to hold her to him. "But since you're in no mood for bartering, I guess you're free to go." With that, he slowly released her from his hold as he sat back in his stool, letting his hands slide across her hip and collarbone as they retreated.

She stood breathless for a moment, letting her head reattach to her body at the loss of his contact. Her face felt hot and flushed, her heart racing. Not to be outdone, she slowly turned to face him, resting her hands on either thigh, letting herself feel the muscles tighten beneath her hands. She let her lips curve into a wicked grin before running a hand through her wild blonde mane, never breaking the eye contact that continued to spark the connection between them.

"You've taught me well, Guildmaster," she grinned, letting her hands slide up his thighs. "Never take a deal if a better one could be made later."

And with that she slowly slid her hands back off his thighs before turning to leave, casting one promising look over her shoulder at him as she waltzed off. The hungry smirk he wore was sure to leave a lasting impression on her as she made her way out, once again leaving the Guildmaster alone with his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaiya's such a minx :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercer learns an important fact about Kaiya.

_27th of Morning Star 4E203_

As soon as Kaiya reached her bed in the cistern, she allowed herself to react to what had just transpired between her and Mercer. Stupid grin on her face, she lied back onto the bed with a contented sigh, letting the butterflies have their way in her stomach without trying to fight them. This was it. She was finally letting herself feel something for the older Breton, finally admitting that she may have a bit of a crush. She was tired of fighting it. What was the point anyway? He obviously was interested in at least teasing her into a crazed stupor, and even if that was all he wanted, she could live with that. She loved the game.

As she laid in her bed and let her skin stop tingling and her heart stop racing, she was met with the reality that there was no use in even trying to sleep. She had only been awake for a matter of hours anyway and there was too much energy bouncing around inside her body to ever will it into slumber. Just as she had done a thousand times, she gathered her sword belt from the chest by her bed and made her way to the training room in the cistern. Hacking away at that straw dummy always made her feel better, whether it was to let out aggression, nervous energy or just to focus her thoughts. She loved her time in the training room in the middle of the night when no one else was around. It was almost a religious experience for her, a meditation.

She stood before the training dummy in complete stillness for a moment, just letting her shoulders relax and her mind prepare for the ritual. In one swift movement, she unsheathed her practice blades - a dull, heavy dagger in her left hand and a matching dull, heavy sword in her right. She spun them around once, exhaled deeply, set her eyes on the target of the dummy in front of her and brought her body into the familiar crouch of a dual wielder.

She started out as she always did, her signature jab with her dagger straight into the ribcage area of her opponent. It never failed, no matter what they wielded, to be effective. She found herself falling into the familiar dance, jabbing with her dagger and slashing with her sword. Spinning and twirling around the dummy, she worked on her focus, keeping her eyes trained onto the bullseye on the chest. She parried a few imaginary blows, dancing out of the way of others, finally feeling her mind set into that cathartic place she loved so much - no thinking, no planning, just being.

"Your footing could use some work."

The sudden voice out of nowhere caused Kaiya to shriek, stumbling back a few steps before regaining her composure and taking up her stance again. She was surprised she hadn't felt him enter. She must really have been into it this time.

"And what would you know about footing, Mercer?" she smiled, out of breath, as her attack continued on the dummies before her. A challenge.

Mercer just laughed as he leaned against the doorway to the practice room, not taking a step further for fear of stepping a little too close to swinging blades. "I know enough, trust me."

She let her blades drop to her sides while she took him in, leaning against the stone with his arms crossed, as casual as ever. Kaiya couldn't tell if he was being serious or not, so she decided to call him on his bluff. The worst thing that could happen would be getting a free lesson out of him.

"Wait, are you serious? Then please, by all means, show me what you know." She waved for him to enter the room, but his look was suspicious at best. "I mean it! I haven't trained with anyone in too long and I don't want to get rusty."

He cautiously approached her in the training room, eyeing her carefully as to not step into some trap she was setting. "Let me see your stance."

She fell into the familiar crouch that she had gone into a thousand times before, her dagger hand out in front of her, her sword held up behind. Her eyes pinned to Mercer's who stood before her, evaluating her stance. "Not bad," he responded, walking around to view it all "but what if I did this?"

With two fingers, he reached towards her and pushed her collarbone, not hard enough to hurt but hard enough to cause her to lose her balance and topple backwards, her feet unable to catch her before she slammed back into the ground. In one swift motion, Mercer had unsheathed his own dagger and held it to her throat, his legs straddling both of her arms and rearing her indefensible. A predatory smile crept up his lips at the sight of the shocked and frustrated Breton below him.

"You're putting too much weight on your back leg, footpad" he stated as fact. "You've got to keep your weight balanced if you're going to wield two weapons. That is, if you want to actually be good at it and not just do it to look like a badass." As he spoke, he had begun to lean forward, his face now close to hers. He removed the dagger from her throat and let it rest under his palm that he used to brace himself on the floor. "Whadd'ya say, footpad? Try again?"

She was shocked that he actually knew a thing or two about how to dual wield. In her travels all over Skyrim and a few trips to Solstheim, she had met a mere handful of people who could dual wield effectively, and even less that were willing to train her. She nodded at his question and squirmed under him, a signal for him to move, but he stayed still. "Tsk Tsk" he scolded her, shaking his head. "Where are your manners? What do you say?"

"Will you get off me so we can train?" She knew that wasn't what he wanted, but she loved the game.

His smile took on a mock disappointed glare. "Oh come on now footpad, I know you can ask nicer than that."

"Will you please let me up so I can train, oh wise leader?"

A laugh escaped him as he relented to her request, standing up and stepping aside so she could get off the hard, stone floor. After making her do her stance over and over and over again until he could push her and she didn't fall down, he asked her to attack the dummy again. She wanted to show him everything she could do, so she went for a power attack, just so they could start from there. She struck with her dagger, then sword, then spun and struck with her blade and followed up with one more jab from her dagger - four impressive strikes to the body of the dummy in less than four seconds.

She turned to face him, expecting to see an impressed look on his face but the expression that met her was anything but impressed. With his brows almost reaching his hairline, he seemed shocked but at the same time, validated, as if a long held belief was just confirmed in one moment. He instructed her to take her stance again without a single word about her attack before stepping behind her and making minor adjustments. His hands on her body sent sparks through her skin, but nothing compared to the storm that he set off with his next statement. Just ten little words:

"When were you planning to tell me you were Forsworn?"

Her face fell with immediate dread, her stomach rising up to sit in her throat. All at once, her posture straightened as stiff as a pillar and in a distant, other world she heard her blades clamor as they hit the stone floor. She stood for a moment in silence, her Guildmaster uttering nothing from his position behind her.

"What did you say?" she managed to croak out of her dry throat.

"I said you're Forsworn," he replied cautiously, "and I was wondering when you were planning on telling me that."

In a split second, she turned to face him, her hands grabbing the collar of his guild leathers. "Who told you that?!" she shrieked, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Who told you!?"

He calmly put his hands over hers, his eyes not moving from where they held her rabid stare. "No one told me, Kaiya." His voice was calm, even. "I figured it out, that's all."

The room began to spin and she found herself holding onto Mercer for balance, then as an anchor to hold her to this plane. "I need to sit down" was the last thing she said before she succumbed to blackness.

* * *

"Kaiya?"

She heard her name. It sounded like it was coming from the other end of a long tunnel. That made sense. A tunnel would explain why it was so dark in here. Light slowly started to filter into her vision, her focus creeping up to allow her to see her surroundings. In front of her, mere inches away, was the face of her Guildmaster, brows furrowed with worry as he held her head in his palms.

"Kaiya wake up!"

She felt a few light smacks to her face and groaned in annoyance, clumsily swatting away his hand. "Why ya hittin' me, Mercer?" It was barely loud or coherent enough for him to make out, but he seemed to understand and let out a single chuckle as he shook his head.

"Well that escalated quickly," he joked, standing up straight and letting out a breath he seemed to have been holding in for hours. As Kaiya's focus returned, so did her memories. The last thing she remembered was aggressively holding onto the collar of Mercer's leathers but now she found herself sitting atop a barrel in the corner of the training room.

"How'd I get over here?" she questioned, her voice still a bit shaky.

"You passed out on me, so I brought you over here."

"You carried me?" her cheeks reddened at the realization. "Oh man the first time you do something nice and I'm not awake to enjoy it."

He let himself smile at her response. "I'm no beast, Kaiya. You passed out. What did you think I would do? Let you drop on the floor and walk off?"

"Is this one of those questions where you pretend like you're looking for honesty but really you don't want me to be honest?" she looked up at him while she let one hand run through her hair. "I've never been good with those questions, Mercer."

He ignored her teasing and cradled her face in his hands, checking her eyes for signs of trouble. To Kaiya's dismay, it wasn't a romantic gesture, merely a medical one. At least now she knew that if she ever wanted Mercer's attention, passing out seemed to work.

As if he felt her mood improve under his hands, he decided on pressing her on the line of questions that made her faint in the first place. "Why the fear, Kaiya? You don't strike me as someone with much to be afraid of, but yet mentioning the F word made you fall to pieces."

Kaiya smiled sheepishly at her weakness, she hated when people found out she could still be a human with human fear. "I don't know, honestly. It's not like I'm afraid of them anymore. I've taken out whole redoubts full of them since then, so I'm not afraid of them. Old habits die hard, I guess."

He just looked at her knowingly before hopping up to sit next to her on another barrel. "You know I have no idea what you mean, right? I guessed you were Forsworn, that doesn't mean I know your entire backstory."

"Well at least I have some secrets left," Kaiya joked but Mercer's piercing gaze did not waver. She sighed, realizing that she was going to have to tell him more than she wanted. "You guessed right, Mercer. I was Forsworn. Raised in a redoubt in the Reach. Escaped a few years ago and haven't looked back since."

"And you're scared that they'll come after you?"

"I was, at least at first. Like I said, I don't worry much about that anymore. It's been too long. They've no doubt cut their losses by now."

He nodded in understanding as she looked down at her legs, swinging back and forth. "Is that common, for them to go after anyone who's escaped?"

She laughed, her eyes still on her boots. "When you were the rank I was, yes."

His eyebrows shot up at this admittance. "Go on…" he coaxed, not wanting to have to pull every answer to every question out of her.

"I was in line to become Hagraven." She shook her head with a scoff at how ridiculous it sounded now, underground in a sewer in Riften, half a world away from the life she led before. "They were preparing me to 'receive Hircine's blessing,' as they called it, from when I was a teen. I didn't know any different, so I let my ego get inflated and thought it was cool." She scoffed at herself now, shaking her head at her naivety.

"I trained with a bow and swords before they started training me in magic. It was all a whirlwind. I see that now, but back then I was just a kid." Her let her eyes wander over to Mercer who was watching her closely.

"What made you want to leave?" he asked, his voice softer than she had ever heard him speak before.

"Funny story, really." She laughed as she remembered, one of those dark laughs that shows that finding humor in it is the only way she can think about it. "I was involved with this guy, right? Gods I hate that all stories have to involve some guy. Why couldn't it just be my story?"

"Kaiya, you're rambling."

"Sorry. But yeah, I was in a relationship with a guy in the redoubt. A bit older, more experienced. I was young and in love, or so I thought. Everyone saw us as the power couple of our tribe, the girl who will one day become Hagraven and the guy who will soon become Briarheart."

"Ah." Was Mercer's response, his eyes moving down to look at his own boots, no doubt guessing where this story was heading.

"Yep. I don't have to tell you what happens next, I bet. The boyfriend goes through the ritual and becomes a Briarheart. Everyone is so happy and so proud of him, his parents were practically beaming."

"All except you, right?" Mercer's eyes were back on her as she spoke.

"Right. To me, he seemed like a different person. He no longer had the sense of humor I used to be so drawn to, and his face wouldn't change at all when he saw me. He would still say his obligatory 'I love yous' or whatever, but there was no emotion behind his words. It was like dating a ghost."

Her head dropped as she stared at her feet, the story no doubt taking its toll on her. "That was the first time I actually started thinking hard about what becoming a Hagraven would do to me. I knew what it would do physically, but hey, hags don't convert to Hagraven until much later in their lives so I figured I'd be ready for that part. But I hadn't really thought about what it would do to me. My personality, who I was, my identity. The thought of it changing me like the Briarheart changed him was unexceptable."

"So you ran." Not a question.

"Yes, I left in the middle of the night. I heard their calls and the horns announcing a defector, but I just kept running. I could hear their footsteps, or maybe that was just me hallucinating from exhaustion. Either way, I ran and ran until I finally lost them and never looked back."

It was quiet for a moment, both of them reflecting on Kaiya's story that still laid thick in the air. She felt better having it off her shoulders.

"How did you guess?" she finally broke the quiet, looking towards him as he sat next to her.

"A few things," he answered honestly. "Your Breton heritage, your proficiency with blades, a bow and magic, your hatred of all things Markarth, that time you almost lost your temper on Brynjolf when he called you a Reachman." Mercer laughed at this memory and the look of shock on Kaiya's face.

"I did that?! Oh gods I need to stop drinking! I don't remember doing that at all!"

Mercer smiled at her with a side glance. "Yeah you did that. Told him it was offensive to ever equate a Breton with those 'savages'."

Her eyebrows went up as if impressed with her own behavior. "Well I can't say I fault myself for that. I'm more impressed than I am embarrassed now."

"Yeah, Brynjolf followed you out of the Flagon like some kid that just got his sweetroll taken for bad behavior."

They laughed together this time, the mood feeling infinitely lighter than it had before.

"But yeah, those things made me suspicious but then seeing your stance in here as you dual wielded confirmed it." A look of mischief took over his features, causing Kaiya to glare at him suspiciously. "I could almost see you in those skimpy furs."

"Mercer Frey!" Kaiya laughed and smacked his arm with false indignation. "You're a scoundrel."

"Never said I wasn't, footpad." He ran his hands through his hair and eyed her again through a side glance. "But seriously, if you still have any of your Forsworn furs I would be glad to teach you dual wielding lessons as you wore them."

She rolled her eyes and hopped off the barrel, walking towards her blades on the floor. "Keep dreamin', Mercer." As she clipped her sword belt back around her waist and sheathed her practice blades, she felt his presence suddenly behind her. She jumped at his closeness in surprise. How did he move so fast?

Before he could speak, she spun around to face him, throwing him a bit off balance. "You won't tell anyone about this, will you?"

A smile crept onto his face, no doubt scheming in his head about where he could go with this.

"Mercer, please." Her serious tone gave him pause as he faced her silently. She reached up and put a hand on his shoulder to accentuate how much she needed his discretion. "I am trusting you with this."

The look on his face immediately changed to pained as he took a step back away from her. The sudden change in his demeanor frightened her a bit. Was he that scared of trust?

"You shouldn't trust me, Kaiya." He looked her square in the eyes as he said this, no joking present anywhere in his tone. The severity of it caused her heart to beat faster. What was going on?

"Too late, Mercer" she smiled, approaching him again and trying to ease his tension. "I trust that you won't say anything to anyone about my past, just like you trust me not to tell anyone about how nice you were to me tonight."

A small, predatory smile slowly took over his features as he stared at her. "You're blackmailing me now?"

"Yep," she bit her lip as she smiled at him, no shame left in her flirtation. "Oh and you have to continue giving me dual wielding lessons. I really need those."

"Only if you wear the furs."

"How about we make a deal, Guildmaster?" She slowly slid her hand on his shoulder down to rest on his chest, leaning her body flush against his. His arms reflexively moved around to hold her hips.

"I'm listening." Good. The licentious tone was back in his voice.

"I'll wear the Forsworn furs for you sometime, but it won't be in the cistern." She let her eyes creep up from her hands on his chest to his parted lips, then to his eyes. She bit the corner of her lip again and smiled with just enough mischief to convince him that she was serious.

He leaned down and put his lips to her ear, breathing deeply as his hands squeezed her hips to communicate what she was doing to him. He let himself take in her scent one last time before responding to her offer, his voice low and rumbling in her ear.

"Deal."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vex tries her hand at infiltrating Goldenglow Estate while Mercer learns more valuable information about his new recruit.

_27th of Morning Star 4E203_

_Get a hold of yourself, Mercer._  His mind chided his body as he watched her saunter out of the practice room, shooting a look over her shoulder at him before she was out of sight. That must be her signature move. She did it every time she walked away and it worked every time she did it, twisting his insides into something almost like feeling. How had he let this get out of control?

He paced back and forth in the practice room, her absence allowing him to think clearly again. He consistently told himself he wouldn't talk to her anymore, wouldn't let himself be alone with her in the Flagon, but he consistently broke his own rules every time she was there. First he blamed her smell. That sundrenched smell that so evaded most who called the cistern home. He blamed that scent for making him crazy, making him act in a way that was detrimental to his usual steel self control.

He let himself believe that for a while, but then it started happening when she was well out of range for him to catch her scent. She could just be in the Flagon and that was enough to root him to his barstool, immobile until he had his nightly dose of her when everyone else had gone to sleep. She was like a sickness, infecting his body and mind in a way that removed all control he had over himself. Every night he would renew his resolve, it was done, no more. But then she left for Markarth.

When she was gone, he couldn't stop checking the time. He was an erratic, moody mess, more so than usual. He paced. He grumbled. He even knocked a candle off his desk into the water in frustration. He was shocked that no one could tell there was a difference in his behavior, but perhaps he had really done a decent job of alienating himself away from everyone. Until her.

He found himself in the Flagon again at night, even though she wouldn't be there. He even struck up a conversation with Sapphire, thinking that maybe he just needed feminine companionship to hold him over. That was a bust. She had no desire to be playful, all she had was fear and respect towards him. How boring.

He convinced himself that it was nothing, until he heard news that she had returned from Markarth and was sitting with Delvin in the Flagon. He had to force himself to wait a few minutes before barging over to the bar, not wanting to look obvious. Or desperate. As soon as he saw her, all the self coaching he did while she was away evaporated. That smile. That's what he had missed. That's what he needed.

He let himself fall into her trap once again and even played along much more than usual. He touched her. He let her touch him. Then he did the unthinkable, he held her to him and let her speak into his ear, let her play with frayed nerves. He told himself that he followed her into the practice room because it was time to take back control the best way he knew how - revealing private information and showing his skill with a sword. But dammit all if that didn't blow up in his face.

Now here he stood pacing, his mind a chaotic mix between trying to retain some self control and imagining her in those Forsworn furs. She said she'd wear them for him. Not in the cistern. Part of his mind planned a way to get her into his house. The other, more logical part of his brain planned a way to get her out of his head.

It was this scene that Brynjolf walked in on - the pacing, fuming, confused Guildmaster, walking circles around the training room.

"Uh, Mercer?" Brynjolf asked nervously, trying to ease his boss out of whatever headspace he was in as casually as possible.

"What!?" Mercer snapped, obviously not ready to be disturbed. Couldn't Brynjolf see that he was pacing?

"Maven just sent down one of her messengers. She wants to see you as soon as possible."

At the mention of Maven's name, all color dropped from Mercer's face and all thoughts of Kaiya in the Forsworn furs banished to a dark corner. This didn't sound good.

"What's this about, Bryn?"

"She didn't give specifics," Brynjolf seemed nervous. That did not help the Guildmaster's mood. "But she said it was about Goldenglow."

Oh shit.

* * *

Mercer sluggishly drug himself back into the cistern in the wee hours of the morning after another grueling meeting with the matron of the Blackbriars. It had not gone well. They constructed a plan to infiltrate Goldenglow, to which he was to send Vex - his best infiltrator. Another night with no sleep. Between running the guild and whatever this was with Kaiya, he was going sleepless much more often these days. All he had to do was to leave a message for Vex and then he could find his way to his house for some much needed slumber.

He made his way to the Guildmaster's desk and resumed his familiar pose of looking over the ledger. This Goldenglow job was weighing on him heavily. He had to get the message out before he collapsed from fatigue. He pushed himself off the desk, seeing as no changes needed to be made to the ledger since the last time he stared at it, and made his way to the Flagon. On his way across the cistern, he caught himself stalling as he spotted a sleeping Kaiya in her claimed bed. Lucky. He pushed forward, clamouring into the empty Flagon. No sign of Vex.

With a groan, he realized he knew where to find her. He made his way back to the room where the leaders of the guild slept, Vex out cold under the arm of a snoring Delvin. He felt a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth at the sight. His boy finally got the girl after years of trying. That wouldn't stop him from ruining it all with this message, however.

"Vex. Vex wake up." Mercer shook her shoulder softly at first, but the shake grew more desperate as she fought off the rest of the world and curled into Delvin. "Gods dammit Vex, wake up!" He bellowed, waking not only the sleeping Vex but her partner in the process.

Their eyes grew huge as they realized who was waking them, both scrambling to make sure they were covered by the furs.

"Don't bother being shocked Vex, I've known for months."

The Imperial shot a look back over her shoulder at a shameless Delvin who just shrugged at her innocently. "They were bound to find out sometime, love."

"Whatever," she groaned, irritated. "What do you want, Mercer?"

His eyebrows shot up at her tone. He wasn't used to be spoken to like that. Well, except for Kaiya. And only when they were alone. She seemed to notice the error of her ways and corrected herself.

"I'm sorry, I tend to be a bit cranky when I'm woken up with shouting."

"Oh is that it, lass?" came Brynjolf's voice from a neighboring bed. "Guess someone's been waking you up that way for years."

"Enough! All of you!" Mercer thundered. He was in no mood for banter. The dark rings around his eyes showed the fellow leaders of the guild all they needed to know about his current state. "I have a job for you Vex."

* * *

Morning came and went, followed by the afternoon and the beginning of evening. The cistern was bustling with thieves helping Vex plan for her upcoming job. Kaiya's back ached from hours of standing at the alchemy table as she made invisibility potion after invisibility potion. Rune dripped sweat over the grindstone as he sharpened Vex's daggers to a deadly edge. Delvin seemed nervous, fluttering around and teaching Vex stealth skills like an overbearing mother, much to her annoyance. Everyone was present and active. Everyone except Mercer Frey.

"Where in Oblivion is Mercer?" Sapphire asked, exasperated as she came down the ladder into the cistern from a fact finding mission. "We're all here helping out but he can't get his lazy ass up and help us on the biggest job to hit the guild in years?"

Kaiya stayed quiet. She had a feeling she knew where the Guildmaster was. If her math was correct, their rendezvous in the training room would have backed immediately up into this meeting with Maven, so he most likely didn't sleep at all. Delvin overheard Sapphire's question and out of earshot, threw a barb Kaiya's way. "Must have had a late night, eh love?"

Kaiya felt blood rush to her cheeks at his meaning, her eyes growing wide in panic that someone would overhear.

"Don't worry your little Breton heart," Delvin joked, calming her down. "If anyone knows how to keep a secret, it's Ol' Delvin."

She shot him a thankful smile before returning her attention back to the alchemy table to make yet another potion.

"Make 'em good, love. I don't need my woman in danger in there."

The tone he used was playful, but Kaiya could sense his nervousness. They were all nervous. Vex was being tasked with single handedly infiltrating a meadery swarming with Riften guards. It was a lot to ask even of the best infiltrator the guild had.

As nightfall stretched across the Rift, Mercer finally appeared in the cistern, barking orders at those unlucky enough to get in his way. Kaiya winced at his tone. He was beyond stressed. Everyone else seemed to see it as well, no more words being whispered about his laziness or his lack of caring. He was just as worried as the rest of them.

She could just imagine how Delvin and Mercer would be while Vex was on the job. She had a momentary vision of them sitting around the Flagon, knitting like two Stormcloak wives, guessing where their betrothed was fighting at any given moment. The thought made her snicker to herself, but if she kept on that line of thinking, she was bound to get sad.

Finally, the time came for them to see Vex off. They all wished her well. She told them to save her a mead. They pretended not to see when her gaze lingered on Delvin's for an extra few seconds before pushing herself out of the hidden entrance in the graveyard and disappearing into the night.

As the rest of the guild seemed to disperse after she left, finding ways to make themselves busy so they wouldn't worry, Mercer stormed over to the corner of the Flagon where Kaiya sat, drinking a bottle of mead alone.

"Are we training tonight or not, footpad?" His words were harsh, his expression matching in severity. She felt herself wince at his words and a dread fell on her as she realized what he was asking.

"Now?" she asked, surprised. "I figured you'd want to take a night off considering this big job and all."

"Did I stutter?" his gaze was fierce as it locked onto hers. The green seemed much more black now than usual. "I said now."

He turned and walked off, expecting her to follow. She took her time getting up and retrieving her practice blades, hoping he would calm down a bit if he spent a few minutes alone whacking away at the practice dummies. For the sake of preparedness, she brought her beloved dragonbone blades with her as well. Tonight seemed like a night he would want to take the gloves off, and she didn't want to be caught with some dull practice blades as her only arsenal.

Cautiously, she walked into the training room, not knowing what she was about to walk in on. Either he was still raging mad to the point where there was a risk he'd actually throw daggers at her, or he'd be a little more calm and want to berate her for hours on her stance. What she did not expect to see however, was the Guildmaster sitting on one of the barrels in the back corner of the room, his head in his hands.

"Mercer?" she asked carefully, not wanting to awaken the dragon if she could help it. At the sound of his name, Mercer's head popped up but he did not move from his position on the barrels.

"I'm OK, footpad." he reassured her, his voice soft and tired, his head dropping back into his hands.

"You sure, Mercer?" she approached him slowly. "I was expecting to have daggers thrown at my head when I walked in."

He laughed once, humorlessly. "No, explaining a death in the guild is the last thing I need right now."

"Oh well in that case," she joked, trying to lighten the mood, "I guess I have nothing to worry about. My guildmaster doesn't want to explain my death, everyone! He really cares!"

He let out another solitary chuckle as she hopped up onto the barrel next to him and resumed the same position they had found themselves in only a night ago.

"I want to murder that woman, Kaiya." He said it with no humor, no teasing, no sarcasm. Kaiya sat quietly for a moment, trying to figure out what she should say next. She settled on silence. This was the first time he had even come close to openly discussing his hatred for Maven in front of her so she didn't want to screw it up. It was unlikely to happen again.

"No matter what I do, it's never enough." He ran both hands through his hair and exhaled deeply before leaning back and looking at the ceiling. "You would think I'd learn by now that I'm nothing more than a means to an end for her fortune, but yet she still surprises me with how much of a…"

"Bitch?" Kaiya offered, innocently.

Mercer exhaled a laugh. "Yes, a bitch. With how much of a raging bitch she can be." He let his head roll to the side so he could make eye contact with Kaiya, her face void of any emotion, indicating that he had her full attention. "I hope I'm not that bad. Would you tell me if I was?"

Kaiya didn't know what to say. He was confiding in her. He was trusting her. He was hoping she'd hold him accountable. He needed her. She tried not to let her emotions show on her face and ruin this fragile moment, so she did what she knew how to do, make a joke about it.

"Now Mercer you know good and damn well that I jump at any opportunity to tell you what an ass you are." She let a soft smile take over her features, leaning into the Guildmaster to bump her shoulder against his. "But look at it this way, she hires people who have no options left. You have a guild of people with plenty of other options, but they choose to stay here. With you."

He let her words sink in, infiltrating his hard facade and slowly wrapping around his heart. He reached over and grabbed her hand, a small smile present on his lips. "You're such a brown noser, you know that?"

She laughed as she hopped off the barrel, releasing her hand from his. "Well are we going to train tonight or what?" He just sat there staring at her in surprise at her eagerness.

"Oh please don't tell me it was all just a ruse so you could get me alone to talk about your feelings, Mercer. I mean if you want to keep talking, that's fine I guess…"

"What? No!" He jumped off the barrel and approached her with a grin. "You want to train, let's train!"

As she suspected, it was sparring he wanted. She was suspicious that he only wanted to spar so he could get her pinned on the floor underneath him, but she wasn't one to complain. After a few rounds they stood exhausted and sweaty, breathing heavily. The score was tied.

"All right, no more games," Mercer declared, throwing down his practice weapons and unsheathing the Dwarven blade and steel dagger that always adorned his belt. "Time to make it real."

It's almost like she knew this was going to happen. She grinned as sweat poured down her flushed face, taking his challenge. She threw her own practice blades to the floor and unsheathed her prized possessions - a dragonbone dagger in her left hand and a dragonbone sword in her right.

"What in Oblivion are those monstrosities?" Mercer teased, pointing his Dwarven sword in the direction of her dragonbone weapons.

"They're the most precious things I own, jackass!" she retorted, not ashamed in the least. "This here is Little Friend" she held up her dagger to introduce it to Mercer, "and this here sword is Boyfriend."

A laugh erupted out of Mercer's chest, filling the room. Kaiya loved his laugh. Rarely did he let it out but when he did, she felt it reverberate through every cell in her body and settle somewhere in her pumping heart.

"You named your sword Boyfriend?" he managed to squeak out in between laughing fits. "Is that so you could tell people you were 'going out with your Boyfriend' and not be lying about it?"

"Maybe!" she challenged with her own grin on her face. "Maybe that's exactly why I did it!"

His laughter only grew at this, forcing him to hold up a hand and shake his head in disbelief. Tears clouded his vision and his stomach ached with the effort.

"It's also because I think it's a brilliant jab at the Nords who take naming their weapons way too seriously," she admitted honestly. "I mean Grimsever, seriously Mjoll?" She was laughing now too. "Didn't sever the grim to get her out of that Dwarven ruin, that's for sure."

They both laughed until they couldn't breath before Mercer found his voice again. "But seriously Kaiya, what the hell are those things? They're ugly as Oblivion. What are they made of? Dragonbone?" He laughed at the absurdity of anyone carrying a weapon made from the bones of dragons, but Kaiya's face was surprised.

"Yes."

Mercer's laughter came to a halt at her answer. "Wait, really? Dragonbone?"

"Yes Mercer, these are dragonbone weapons. Seriously." She seemed confused at why he was so surprised.

"How did you get those? Did you rob the Dragonborn or something?"

Kaiya's face showed her shock at his question.  _He didn't know_. Her open mouth morphed into a wicked smile. She finally had information she could hold over him that he didn't already know.

"Do you really not know, Mercer?"

"Not know what?" He looked suspicious. Suspicious and nervous.

"I'm the Dragonborn, you ass!" It was her turn to erupt in laughter now at the absurdity that he would not know that. His mouth gaped open in shock but his eyebrows showed anger.

"And you didn't think that was information I should know, Kaiya?" he boomed, trying to take control of the situation back. She continued to laugh.

"No, no, no!" she squeaked, shaking her head. "You aren't allowed to play the 'you should've told me' card on this one, Mercer. Everyone in Skyrim knows I'm the godsdamned Dragonborn! How about leave the cistern every now and then and take a walk outside, man!"

Her laughter didn't show signs of stopping. Mercer was unamused. "How in Oblivion am I supposed to know that?"

"I don't know, Mercer! Are you telling me that you knew I was Forsworn but had no idea I was Dragonborn? Oh this is too rich!"

"Does everyone else in the guild know?" His voice was quiet now, embarrassed.

"Probably," Kaiya responded, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Seriously Mercer, who is your informant? You need to fire that guy if he didn't tell you the day I joined that I was Dragonborn."

Mercer stayed quiet. He was no longer amused by this game.

"Aw, don't be sad" she mocked, walking over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder just to have him brush it off. "Yes, I'm the Dragonborn. If you want, we can take a walk up there in the real world sometime and you'll see how obvious it is. Everyone greets me by that title. Everyone." She looked down at her feet as she continued. "I'm actually somewhat disappointed that you didn't know. I really thought you were the first person who didn't just call me by my title. That you knew I was more than that."

"Oh, woe to you, the struggles of Skyrim's hero." Mercer jabbed with no emotion in his voice. His arms were crossed over his chest and his face searching hers for signs of weakness he could exploit.

She knew he was trying to anger her to get back at her for having momentarily felt embarrassed over something. She didn't let it get to her.

"Right," she backed up, swinging her blades around to show she was ready to spar again. "Maybe sometime I'll tell you all about how glorious of a fucking job that's been, ass."

The hard edge of her taunt did not go unnoticed. He would be lying if he said he wasn't intrigued to know what she meant by that. But for now, it was time for him to defeat the infamous Dragonborn right here in the training room. He grabbed his swords and started charging towards her. Their swords met in the center of the training room, clashing loudly in the quiet night.

"Those things look heavy," Mercer taunted as they parried each other's blows.

"Did you just call my Boyfriend fat?" she teased in mock offense.

It went on like that for several minutes, neither getting ground on the other. Kaiya decided it was time to play dirty.

"You know," she breathed between parries, "now that you know I'm Dragonborn, that means I can use all my Dragonborn tricks."

"What?" he retorted, taking a step back to let her strike miss, "sing a ballad to yourself? 'Our hero, our hero claims a warrior's heart!'" He started to sing one of the bard's favorites to her as they sparred.

"No, ass!" she argued, spinning to jab at his left flank as he dodged with ease. "I mean like this."

FUS!

With one word from her Shout, he stumbled backwards several feet, providing her the opportunity she needed to make her move. She ran at him and tackled him to the floor, his arms pinned under her legs, just as he had pinned her the night before.

"Say it!" she yelled, so close to victory.

"You cheated!" he retorted with a glare, "I'll do no such thing!"

"Say it or I'll do it!" weapons no longer in her hands, she threatened him with two fingers, hovering dangerously over where his nipple would be under his leathers.

"You're threatening my nippl-OW!" he shrieked, as her fingers pinched the sensitive skin and twisted. "Okay, okay!" he relented, "I'll say it!"

"Then just say it and stop announcing it!"

"I'm only going to whisper it though so you have to lean closer." Feeling a trap, she hesitated but remembered that his arms were trapped beneath her. There was nothing he could do. She leaned forward and put her ear by his mouth to hear him whisper.

"Ew! Oh gods Mercer! What in the Oblivion!?" she shrieked as he cackled, after sticking his tongue directly into her ear. With her momentarily distracted, he bucked her off of him with his hips and took his place on top of her, pinning her down.

"Say it!" he declared.

"No way! We'll have to stay this way all night. I'm never giving you that!"

"Kaiya, don't tempt me," he said with false seriousness. "I am perfectly content with straddling you like this for hours."

"You lecherous man!" she cried, throwing his teasing back at him. "Fine. Just because I'm hungry though."

"Then just say it and stop announcing it!" he mocked her previous words back to her.

She took a deep breath and he seemed to catch onto what she was doing. "No! No!"

FUS!

He flew back from on top of her and she scrambled to her feet, preparing to run for it. Before she could get out of the room, she shrieked as she felt a hand grab her wrist and pull her back, pinning her against the wall.

Mercer breathed heavily from the exertion, but used his bulk to keep her pinned under him, his frame fully against her. He held both of her wrists against the wall on either side of her head and they both stood there, breathing heavily and grinning like fools at one another.

He leaned down to put his mouth next to her ear and she squirmed, "Not again! Not again!"

"No," he laughed, his voice taking on a husky edge. "That is only a trick I pull when I have no other options. But now…"

He let his words fade into the night as he pressed himself against her, neither knowing what to do next. She felt her heart thumping against her ribcage and knew her palms had to be sweaty. His smell hijacked her thoughts, leather, rain and stone. He was so much larger than life, his presence holding her fixed to the wall more than just the effort of his body. He was consuming her. As their breath slowed, he leaned his forehead against the wall next to her head so he could speak into her ear.

"How do you always do this?" he asked with sincerity.

"Do what?"

"Make me forget about everything I should be worried about."

A gasp caught in her throat in surprise.  _What was he saying_?

"That's one of my powers."

"Is this another Dragonborn thing?" he laughed, his voice raw.

"No, just a Kaiya thing," she joked innocently.

"Mm," he hummed, moving his nose into the space behind her ear. "I like it."

Suddenly, they both heard someone in the cistern yelling for Mercer. Their moment was over. Mercer let his forehead fall against the stone wall next to Kaiya's head as he let out an annoyed sigh, releasing her wrists. He pushed himself off the wall and made his way into the training room to grab his sword and dagger that were strewn about the room. Kaiya stood where she was, motionless and in a daze. He had needed her tonight. That's what happened. He was stressed and in pain and instead of sulking alone he had reached out for her. Sure, it was a bit unorthodox, but it had happened all the same.  _What was happening?_  The absence of his presence looming over her felt like it ripped a void into her being, one that could only be filled by Mercer. This was getting dangerous.

As he stormed towards the cistern from the practice room he paused at Kaiya's motionless body against the wall. Shooting her a smirk (or himself a smirk as he eyed the results of his effort) he nudged her with an elbow. "Come on, grab your Boyfriend, we're needed."

As she watched him walk away, she swore she saw him adjust his pants to hide the obvious bulge he must be sporting.  _That a girl, Kai_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? It's fun to name weapons silly things :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maven's the worst.

_27th of Morning Star 4E203_

She felt the dread in the cistern before she ever saw what was happening. There in the center of the chaos laid a wounded Vex, the other guild members flurrying around her to help. Upon seeing Kaiya, Tonilia shouted for her to join them.

"Kaiya! You know restoration magic, right!?" she cried, panic obvious in her voice.

Kaiya ran towards the wounded thief, preparing her healing spell in her hand. Once she reached Vex on the ground she cast her Grand Healing spell, the most advanced restoration magic she could muster. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a smile form on Vex's face.

"What took you so long, Kaiya?" she strained to ask. Her cracked and bloody lips smiled up at her healer, the pain finally subsiding. "All these fools with their bandages and I'm laying here like 'uh someone find the mage?'"

Kaiya smiled at the Imperial, still painfully herself even amongst what looked like pretty serious injuries. She summoned another healing spell into both palms as she laid her hands on Vex, moving them over her body to feel for other injuries. While she felt no broken bones, the leather was soaked with blood, the clear sign of some serious puncture wounds. The spells seemed to close them up, but Vex would be bruised and sore for days after this.

A tug of guilt pulled at Kaiya's heart as she thought about what she was doing while Vex was being repeatedly stabbed and shot at. She was having a flirtatious sparring session with her boss while Vex was out there alone, no doubt running for her life. A smaller, quieter part of her brain reminded her that her Guildmaster had needed her, but Kaiya wasn't one to easily forgive herself.

Speaking of the Guildmaster, she realized he was nowhere in sight. He had walked out right before her though, so it's not like he was hiding. Was he? As her eyes scanned the room she finally found him, right where she felt the disturbance in the air around her. He was speaking with someone in hushed tones and it didn't look good. She could only see Mercer's back, but she knew how he looked when he was stressed. Shoulders hunched over, hand repeatedly running through his hair, hands on hips. She couldn't get a good look at who he was speaking to though.

She returned her attention back to Vex who was currently berating Vipir for being clumsy. Good ol' Vex. Delvin knelt by her head, worrying over her like a mother. As he does. Kaiya could feel Vex becoming overwhelmed at everyone who fussed over her, so she did the best thing she could think to do for her friend: yelled at everyone to leave.

"Alright guys," she stood, taking control. "I know you're all worried about our Vex here but she's doing OK and needs some space. Delvin, can you carry her to her bed?" He nodded in response. "Good. Now everyone give her some space OK? We'll call for you if we need you. She just needs to rest now."

As Delvin lifted her up to carry her to her bed, Vex mouthed a 'thank you' over to Kaiya for her efforts. Well at least her strengths were able to help Vex twice today. Everyone waved longingly to the thief as she was carried away as if she were going on some long voyage. Once she was out of the cistern, Kaiya found herself maneuvering around to see who it was Mercer was arguing with.

When she caught sight of her, Kaiya felt her heart thumping in her throat. Maven. In the cistern. This couldn't be good. Mercer looked exasperated and furious. There was no way Kaiya was stepping into that shock rune. Well, until Maven caught her staring and called her over.

She approached the conversation with no small amount of fear, but she tried not to show it in her actions. Maven struck her as a woman who preyed off fear. She shot a look at Mercer, trying to read from his expression what was going on. All she got was anger coming off of him in waves as he stared daggers into the matron.

"You don't need to be a part of this conversation Kaiya." His tone was harsh but she knew it wasn't at her. He was trying to take control over whatever game Maven was playing with him.

"Oh I believe she does, Guildmaster." Maven replied, throwing disdain and mockery into his title as if he was only allowed to call himself that because she allowed it. "I think she needs to know what she'll be getting herself into."

Kaiya gulped at her statement, not having a clue what she was talking about. She waved awkwardly at the two as they argued, "uh, hello? I'm right here. What am I getting myself into, exactly?"

Mercer's expression crushed her as his gaze fell on her. It was one of defeat and sadness. He had lost whatever argument they were having. Maven looked smug, but she always looked smug. That might just be her face, it was hard for Kaiya to tell.

"Kaiya, you'll be taking up this mission where your colleague Vex failed." she stated coldly, making it obvious with her tone that she found Vex's wounds merely an annoyance to her mission.

Kaiya knew how to handle people like this. She was a Breton after all. Show no weakness. Act like it's not a big deal. If she sees signs of nervousness, she'll take that as a challenge to break her. No, act as if this is just another job because in all honesty, for the Dragonborn, it was.

"Sounds fine with me," she stated casually, shrugging her shoulders. She would make this as easy on Mercer as possible. "When do you want me to go?"

The question was posed to Mercer, but Maven answered. Her brow shot up in surprise at Kaiya's response at she glared at the Guildmaster, taking her lack of fight as a win. "Not for another week, I'm afraid. They'll no doubt heighten security after Vex's little… mishap… so we will have to wait until the buzz dies down. Do not leave until I say so but be prepared to depart at a moment's notice. Do I make myself clear?"

Kaiya felt her fists clench and her anger boil under the surface at the attitude of this woman. She understood clearly now why Mercer hated her so much. She was vile.

"Very clear. Understood." She felt the need to salute, but that didn't make any sense. Maven would just see it as a mockery of her station. That made her want to do it even more, but she willed herself to stand still. She wouldn't want to bring more trouble on her Guildmaster who was already worn so thin.

"Very good. Mercer can fill you in on the rest of the details. I'm sure he wouldn't mind the company, would you Mercer?" her voice was venomous in the way she shot her question straight at him. A lesser man would have flinched, but Mercer was not a lesser man. He stood in silence and stared at her, hatred consuming his expression. Maven shot them both one last smug 'don't forget I own you' expression as she walked out of the cistern, leaving Mercer and Kaiya alone to discuss their hatred of all things Maven.

Kaiya, while angry, was left with an overwhelming feeling of confusion. What had Maven meant by Mercer not minding the company? It seemed like all of this was connected somehow - choosing Kaiya for the job and her jabs at Mercer's leadership. If she didn't know better, she would think that Maven had some knowledge about her relationship with the Guildmaster. The epiphany hit her like a blow from a hammer and she gasped audibly as the pieces fit together.

"So you figured it out, did you?" Mercer asked as they both stood facing forward, staring at the doorway Maven had exited moments before.

"She thinks we're a thing and so she's trying to wreck it or wreck you I can't tell and so she's…" Kaiya's rant was cut short by Mercer's hand planting itself over her mouth.

"Shh, Kaiya!" he chided her. "Not here! Follow me."

She followed him out of the cistern. For a moment, butterflies danced in her stomach when she thought he might be taking her to his house, but then they exited the city gates and walked towards the lake. She had no idea where he was leading her but she trusted him, foolish as that might be. On the edge of the lake, he walked up a set of stairs onto a patio area that was attached to a house. Maybe he was taking her to his house after all, she thought, realizing she had no idea where he lived.

"Is this your house?" she asked as they sat at a table set up on the patio, the sounds of water hitting the shore and the sound of dartwings flying around them.

He leaned back into his chair and smirked at her over the table. "It is tonight."

"So that's a no," she laughed, looking around for signs of eavesdroppers. She dropped her voice down to a whisper, "who lives here, Mercer?"

"No one right now," he said as he stood, motioning for her to stay seated. "It's awaiting the new thane if my new recruit here would get off her ass and stop a skooma operation already." He shot a smile at her to stifle her groan. "Would you like a mead?"

"Am I breathin'?" she responded with a scoff, the most obvious answer to the most obvious of questions.

He spent no more than three seconds picking the lock to the house which impressed Kaiya greatly. Well, she thought to herself, he's not the Guildmaster for nothing. In a few moments, he returned to her on the porch with a bucket of mead and a wooden plate of cheese. Kaiya laughed at the sight as Mercer sat across from her. "Cheese?" he asked with a fake high class Imperial accent as he offered her the plate as if it were a delicacy. She grinned as she took a slice and looked at him with a quizzical gaze, wondering where this all came from.

"You said you were hungry earlier," he explained. "And I knew this house would have some food. And quiet."

"Ah," she replied in understanding. "How Guildmaster of you."

While he was acting like himself, well, the himself he was around Kaiya, she could still see the sharp edges of anger and worry that lined his eyes and mouth. He was trying to make light of it, she realized. That scared her more than his anger ever could.

"What is all this about, Mercer?" Straight to the point as usual. Good ol' Kaiya.

Mercer sighed as he opened his bottle of mead. He took a slow slip before lounging back into his chair and tossing the cork from the mead bottle into the lake. "She's trying to fuck with me, Kaiya."

"By fucking with me?" she asked, although she wasn't as surprised as she sounded.

"Yeah," he growled. "She wouldn't admit it, but that's what she's doing. I've known her a long time. Her methods may vary, but her motives are always the same. Jealousy and greed. In this case, it's both. Lucky her! Two birds, one bitch-sized stone."

"Wait, am I the bitch-sized stone?"

A corner of Mercer's mouth curled up in the early stages of a smile, but his eyes stayed on the water. "No, Kaiya. You're the dwarf-sized Dragonborn."

"Actually Mercer," she now spoke in Mercer's fake high class Imperial accent, "contrary to legend, the Dwemer were most likely the same size as their fellow mer." His eyebrows shot up in surprise at her knowledge. She laughed before nudging him with her foot under the table. "I mean think about it Mercer, could a tiny dwarf wield that huge sword you carry?"

She didn't mean it as a double entendre, but she'd take the look on his face as if she meant it. She curled her lips into a leering grin as she moved her bottle of mead to her mouth.  _Oh he was so much fun to play with._  His smile slowly faltered as he looked back towards the water, throwing Kaiya's discarded cork into the water as he did the first.

"Kaiya, this is the exact behavior that got us into this mess."

She felt her heart squeeze at his words. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? He couldn't do this - end it before it ever began!

"What mess, Mercer?" she tried to maintain her nonchalance. "Remember, I'm the godsdamned Dragonborn. I went to fucking Sovngarde and killed an immortal deity that was eating souls. I think I can handle a few Riften guards at a meadery."

He looked at her with surprise once again. She always seemed to do that to him, find a way to surprise the man that thought there were no more surprises left. "Wait, that really happened?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. "I thought that was just a legend. You really did that?"

"The only thing about that story that's legend is that it will be remembered as being done by a giant Nord man. Otherwise, it's all true. Rode on the back of a dragon that's still my friend now, jumped through a portal, saw some old friends, met Ysgrammor and Hakon One-Eye. Then fought that giant asshole until he blew up."

Mercer snickered at her story. "A word of advice, footpad. Next time you tell your warrior's tale you should work on your word choice. No one wants to hear your story of how you fought a giant asshole until it blew up."

A laugh burst out of Kaiya's chest, not being able to hold it back. Her laughter echoed through the quiet night, threatening to wake all of Riften if she didn't tone it down. He playfully threw a piece of cheese at her while shushing her to get her to shut up.

"I'm sorry," she loudly whispered, "I just didn't realize I had even said that."

Mercer felt his heart tug at the innocence she displayed, even after all she had been through. No matter what was going on around him, he could always count on her to make him laugh and forget the severity of it all. It just didn't seem like a big deal when he was with her. He was becoming addicted to that power she held over him and he was also beginning not to care enough to be worried about that anymore. This situation, for instance. She was right. Here he was, worrying over her like… well, like Delvin… all the while she tells stories of traveling to Sovngarde to fight an immortal dragon god. He couldn't disagree, a meadery full of Riften guards seemed like child's play when compared to that.

Kaiya must have noticed he was deep in thought, no doubt guessing exactly what he was thinking about. "Does she know I'm Dragonborn, Mercer?"

The question caught Mercer off guard, his mind knitting together what she could be thinking. "I thought you said everyone knew."

"Well YOU didn't know," she taunted, "so maybe I was wrong about everyone knowing. If she knew I was Dragonborn, she wouldn't be so cocky about sending me off on this mission that she thinks will kill me."

When she said it out loud like that, it made his stomach tighten. She was right again, Maven was sending her off on this in hopes that it would kill her. A "hmm" was his only reply to her query, his mind wandering off once again.

"Wait a second," she shot straight up in her seat, mead sloshing out of the bottle in her hand. "You said she was jealous! Why is she jealous, Mercer? Does she have a thing for you or something?"

Mercer's eyes widened at her question. He had been so careless with his rants and she was so observant, of course she'd pick up on that slip up. Well, it was too late to come up with some lame excuse now, better tell her the truth and hope she won't ask more questions.

"It's not that she has a thing for me as much as she sees me as her property." He answered, surprised by his own candor. Kaiya just sat there in silence, thinking over what Mercer had said.

"What a vile bitch." was her response. She pulled her legs up into the chair she sat in and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees. The sight of her saying something so crass while sitting so innocently caused a smirk to take over the Guildmaster's face.

"You have no idea" he responded, uncorking another bottle of mead and chucking the cork into the water.

"You know how we get her back?" Kaiya's smile showed wicked promise.

"I'm listening."

"We live, Mercer." Her eyes seemed to glisten as she spoke, full of life. "Fuck what she wants. She wants me dead so she can have her property to herself or whatever sick reasoning she has? She'll have to try herself. She doesn't scare me and neither do her 'suicide missions'. Let's not let her affect us, OK?"

He scoffed at her naivety. "I wish it were that easy, Kaiya."

"Well I know I don't know all the details, but I know enough right now to say that my idea is brilliant at least in this situation!" She threw her hands up in the air as if celebrating herself.

"You just don't want me to stop paying attention to you." He leveled his gaze at her as his head hung lazily to the side, eyeing her with mischief.

"Ya damn right I don't!" she laughed, but then her voice turned more somber with what she wanted to say next. "In all honesty Mercer, will you promise me something?"

"I don't know if I can do that, footpad." His eyes looked sad.

"OK, fair enough. Well anyway, what I was going to say is I really don't want you to make decisions on my behalf for something you think is good for me, alright?"

His brows snapped together in confusion. "Uh, I usually don't make a habit of playing caretaker for others, Kaiya."

"I know, but hear me out." She let her feet drop off of the chair and she turned to face him with her full attention. "I've spent most of my life having people make decisions for me and it hasn't gotten any easier. Now instead of mortals deciding my fate I have daedric princes and fuckin' Akatosh deciding what my destiny is and I'd rather be able to make my own decisions where I can."

"Shit, that was more than I expected." His eyebrows showed concern that wasn't present in his voice.

"I know it's a lot, but think about it. If I tell you that I want to do a job or I want to be friends, let me make that decision for myself. Don't do that thing people do where they back out of a relationship or a friendship or make decisions for someone else without asking because they think they're doing what's best for them. At best, that's just a coward's way out. At worst, it's controlling and creepy behavior."

"Alright," he smiled as he nodded. "Give the lady control of her decisions. Heard loud and clear."

"Thank you, Mercer." The smile on her face was much too sentimental for Mercer to handle at the moment. Her last request had hit him a little harder than he expected.

"Make no mistake though, Kaiya," his voice dropped into a more serious tone. "I'm your Guildmaster, so my word goes and I'll do what I think is best for the guild, even if it upsets you."

She swallowed hard at his words, "understood."

"Good." His demeanor relaxed at her acknowledgement of his leadership. "So let me make sure I'm getting this right," he looked at her quizzically, using his hands to demonstrate while he spoke. "You want to do this Goldenglow job?"

She nodded, "ya damn right." A smile crept up on her face despite the heaviness that was present in their conversation. "Now are you going to give me the details or should I go talk to Vex?"

Mercer leaned across the table on his elbows, his bottle of mead still in his hand and a look of mischief on his face. "If you're going to do this, you're going to do it right. Now let me tell you what I know and then let's get back to the cistern so we can see if Vex has any more information."

* * *

A few hours and a several bottles of mead later, the Guildmaster and Kaiya sat at the edge of the bed next to Vex's, asking her what she could tell them about the Goldenglow job.

"You're up next, Kaiya?" she asked, surprised that they would send one of the newer guild members on a job she almost got killed on. "Are you sure you're OK with this?"

Kaiya shot a guarded look at Mercer, wondering how much of their previous conversation she was allowed to divulge to a fellow guild member. Mercer took it as his prompt to answer the question himself.

"She doesn't have much of a choice, Vex." His words were cold, surprising Kaiya with his controlling tone. "Maven asked for her by name."

"Sheesh," Vex exclaimed, "you get yourself in one bad situation and all of a sudden you're facing a coup."

"It's not like that Vex," Kaiya jumped in to explain. "Maven wants it done soon and next to you, I'm the second best infiltrator this skeever hole of a guild's got." She beamed at the Imperial as she used her own words to try to dissuade her fear.

Mercer eyed her with what seemed like annoyance. "What I believe Kaiya is trying to say is that you mucked the job up Vex," his attention trained on the Imperial. "You didn't get it done, so our hands were forced."

A look of shock spread across Kaiya's face at his harshness, but Vex just nodded and accepted the tongue lashing. "I understand, Mercer."

At that, Vex meekly told Kaiya and the icy cold Guildmaster everything she had learned during her botched break in attempt. There were no Riften guards. They had been replaced with mercenaries. Great. But there was a secret entrance that could lead through the sewers directly into the property. That was a plus. Kaiya's head swam with all the information that had been thrown at her that night, both from Mercer and now from Vex, and started to feel nervous about this job for the first time. She may be the Dragonborn, but this wasn't exactly slaying a dragon.

She also couldn't get Mercer's harsh words towards Vex out of her head. What was that about? He had been just as concerned as she was, but then get him in front of her and he acts like he was disappointed in her, not concerned. She'd have to give him a piece of her mind about that once they got out of this dingy room.

"Alright, thanks Vex." Kaiya stood to leave, stretching her stiff muscles from sitting still for so long. "Get some rest. You'll be as good as new in no time." She beamed at her friend, hoping to bring her spirits up a bit after Mercer basically stomped on them. Vex gave her a weak smile in response, reaching out and grabbing Kaiya's hand as a silent thank you. Mercer stood abruptly, making some comment about getting rest before he bounded out of the room ahead of Kaiya.

"What in the Oblivion was that?" Kaiya screeched at Mercer once they were out of Vex's sleeping quarters and back into the quiet of the cistern. She grabbed his arm and swung him around to face her, her arms gesturing to the room they just came from with a look of shock on her face.

"Watch it." Mercer's response was acidic, his eyes narrowed on her so severely that she could barely see the green in them. He towered over her, threatening her with his posture. For the first time, Kaiya felt fear in his presence but did not back down.

"No, you told me to tell you if you acted like Maven, so I'm telling you that you just acted like Maven." She stood her ground, her arms now crossed over her chest in defiance.

If she thought he was angry before, she had been sorely mistaken. Rage took over every feature in his face; Kaiya could almost feel the heat coming off of him. "NO. I WAS NOT." He thundered in her face, close enough where his breath made her hair blow back.

Mercer looked around and saw they had begun to attract an audience. He grabbed Kaiya's arm in a vice grip before dragging her behind him into the seclusion of the training room. When he saw that Niruin was in the room practicing with his bow, Mercer erupted. "OUT!" Niruin jumped in surprise before grabbing his supplies and scurrying out of the room, not wanting to be around for whatever punishment the Guildmaster was about to dole out to the poor Breton.

Kaiya was terrified, but she knew better than to let it show. She jumped back into their fight first before Mercer could get a word out. "If what you were just doing wasn't Maven's classic cold and callous bullshit, please explain to me what it was!"

"I WAS CHALLENGING HER!" He boomed back at Kaiya, just as close to her face as he was before, even with the extra room provided by their seclusion. He stopped himself from going further before laughing sardonically and taking a step back, running a hand through his hair. "You know what? Why am I explaining myself to you?" His eyes leveled right at her stare. "I owe you nothing."

His words cut her worse than his Dwarven blade ever could. She took a step back at the blow, reeling from the impact of his statement. She looked down, trying not to let the hot tears she felt rising to the surface show. She would not let herself cry in front of him.

"You know what?" she responded, letting her gaze meet his and giving up on not letting him see the tears. He put them there. Let him see the results of his efforts. "You're right. You owe me nothing." She let out a humorless laugh, "I don't know what I was thinking, assuming you meant it when you asked if I would tell you if you were becoming like her. That would insinuate you gave a flying fuck about what I thought."

His temper dampened at the sight of her tears, but not enough to qualify as anything but rage. "Don't do that." He was speaking to her in his Guildmaster voice now, deep and commanding. "Don't throw this back on me like somehow it's about you. It's not. I was challenging a member of my guild. A member who I've known for years that respects me and my leadership. A member that is as good as she is because of the way I've challenged her. This is in no way about you, so stop trying to claim yourself as a victim." He pointed a finger directly into her chest. "It's beneath you."

She felt a gasp leave her lips at his statement. He was right. His behavior was atrocious, but he was right. She had no idea what she was talking about. She knew nothing of his relationship with the other members of his guild. She knew nothing of what it took to challenge the huge, brash personalities that made up the membership. She had tried to make this about them when it wasn't. It wasn't about her.

She let her head drop at his words, the fight leaving her body and voice. "You're right."

"Come again?" his mood seemed to have lightened slightly, but he was incredibly cautious to count his victory too soon.

She lifted her head to meet his eyes, hers silver with tears not yet running over. "I said you're right. I was making this about me. It's not about me."

He stayed quiet for a moment, crossing his arms and eyeing her suspiciously. "Is this a trick?"

An exasperated laugh broke out of Kaiya's chest at his paranoia. "No ass!" she laughed again, wiping her eyes. "I'm not a child! Or a Nord!" His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, causing her to look around as if thinking do I really have to explain this? "I'm not too proud to admit when I've fucked up, Mercer. Your behavior wasn't so great and your anger is downright terrifying, but I can at least admit that I didn't have the right to challenge you like that."

With a look of cautious suspicion still on his face, he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and take the peace offering she was handing him. "Well, good."

There was an awkward pause. "Well, good, and…" Kaiya responded in a question, moving her finger in a circle to encourage him to continue.

"Well, good and apology accepted?" he asked, not sure what she wanted.

She chuckled at his cluelessness, shoving his shoulder playfully. "How about 'I'm sorry I scared you' or 'yeah I was kind of a dick' or even 'you look hot when you're mad'? Anything?"

Mercer's lips curled with mischief at her neediness. "Are you begging me now?" his voice rolled out of his chest in his signature deep timbre. "I have to say, I like it when you beg me."

Kaiya shook her head at how he managed to pervert their conversation. "You ass," she joked as she turned to leave, "you're hopeless."

And with that, they left the training room together, surprising everyone in the cistern that they were both still alive after the scene they had made moments before.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercer shares a few secrets of his own.

_10th of Sun's Dawn 4E203_

"You're leaving in the morning then?" Mercer asked out of breath, weaving between Kaiya's practice dagger and sword.

"You really want to discuss strategy now?" Kaiya panted in response, spinning and thrusting her sword towards Mercer's lithe form.

Mercer grinned at his apprentice as he neared another victory. He could always tell she was as good as finished when she would try to put off a conversation while they sparred. "It's as good a time as any, isn't it?"

Kaiya's flushed face dripped with sweat, her footwork becoming sloppy as her fatigue set in. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing, Frey."

"Frey, is it?" he laughed, narrowly dodging another desperate strike from her dagger. "We've moved onto surnames now, have we?"

"You're doing that thing."

"Eloquent." He sidestepped another awkward lunge. "Stay off your front foot, Kaiya. You're thrusts are getting desperate."

They fell back into the quiet rhythm of their clashing swords, a rehearsed dance.

"You never said what 'thing' I was doing." Mercer was toying with her now, victory clearly at hand.

"You're asking questions to try to distract me, Frey!" she recovered a stumble before Mercer was able to capitalize on it.

"Still on surnames then?" another breathless laugh. "That's not fair, I can't reciprocate."

"A man who likes to reciprocate? That's good to know," she spun to strike the Guildmaster with her backhand to which he met with his sword to block. "But why can't you?"

His game worked. She was distracted, tripping on her own feet as she spun and stumbled backwards. Mercer lunged at the opportunity to take his win, tackling her to the ground and straddling her arms. A smug smile formed on his face as he gloated. "Say it."

"You know I'm not going to say it, Frey."

"Stop calling me that!" his command came out more as an exasperated plea than an order.

"Why? It's irritating you, so I like it" an insubordinate scowl paired with her childish taunt.

His weapons dropped to the floor, he put a palm on either side of her head as he leaned over, his face hovering over hers. "But I don't know your surname."

Her eyes widened at his confession before a roguish smile claimed her lips. "Ah, another bit of knowledge I have that you don't."

He stared back at her, unamused. "You know I don't have to let you up, right?"

"I'm fine like this for hours, your old man knees on the other hand…"

"My knees are fine, footpad." He was using his stern voice again, trying to command her to submit to him. "Tell me your surname."

"What's in it for me?" The roguish smile made another appearance.

His face turned into a predatory scowl. "We've been through this, footpad. Nothing has to be in it for you. I tell you to tell me your surname, then you tell me. End of story."

"Tough talk for a man on his back."

"Wha-"

FUS!

She straddled him, trapping his arms beneath her, a perfect replication of the pose he held over her moments before.

"I've told you to stop doing that!" his eyes narrowed at her in indignation. "You know what comes next."

She ignored his threats. "I'll tell you my surname if you tell me something in return. Quid pro quo."

His brows shot up momentarily at her reference to a night they spent together so long ago, a night neither of them ever spoke of. As far as he was concerned, they had started their relationship over the day she joined the guild, but he knew she was holding onto it. There's no way she had let it go, and that was even more obvious now with her claim of quid pro quo. He decided to play her game.

"What do you want?" his voice rumbled out of his chest. He knew it got to her by the way she shivered almost every time he spoke to her that way. Sure enough, she gave into a slight shiver at the sound.

She continued leaning over him, her face not giving any clues to what she was thinking. "I'll tell you my surname if you tell me where you're from."

Mercer smirked. This was too easy. "Deal."

"Hawkhart," she admitted sheepishly, "my surname is Hawkhart."

He held back a laugh, now understanding why she kept it to herself. "Well if I hadn't guessed you were Forsworn earlier, that name would have surely given it away."

"Hush!" she laughed, her cheeks blushing from embarrassment. "Now you know why I don't tell anyone. It's obvious. Not to mention cheesy."

"Yeah," he agreed, "it's pretty damn cheesy Kai."

He called her Kai. He'd never called her that before. She tried to look away so he wouldn't see her blush, but she knew he probably saw it. He always did.

"Your turn," she flipped the conversation to focus on him, trying to get her racing pulse to settle down.

"Will you let me up first?" He looked up at her with the closest expression to innocence he could ever hope to muster. Kaiya didn't buy it for a second, but it made her laugh and roll off of him, so it worked after all. He stood from the ground and made his way to sit on the barrels in the back of the room, beckoning Kaiya to follow.

"We should put a bench in here if we're going to keep having these post-sparring heart to hearts," she teased, hopping up on her designated sitting perch alongside her Guildmaster.

"Is that what you think we're doing?" his voice was cold but his eyes crinkled at the corners to soften his question.

"Either that or you have the most boring idea of foreplay I've ever seen," Kaiya jabbed her elbow into his ribs at that, forcing Mercer to dodge her.

He ignored her taunt and decided to press forward with the matter at hand. "You want to know where I'm from or not?"

"Yes!" Her eyes widened with excitement as she turned to face him on her barrel, somehow adjusting her small frame to bring her legs up to rest her chin on her knees, looking up at him. "Oh, and don't half ass this story, Mercer. I gave you my embarrassing surname, you owe me!"

He felt a smile creep up on his lips as he looked down at his boots for a moment, readying his nerves to continue. "I'm from Riften." He paused.

"Is that… is that it?" Kaiya looked at him with a raised eyebrow, hoping with everything in her that she hadn't fallen for one of his tricks. "Well that's some bullshit."

He looked at her with mock offense, pretending to be hurt that she didn't believe him. She shook her head and laughed at his horrible acting. "No, I said not to half ass it, Frey! I know good and damn well you're not from Riften."

"And what makes you so sure?"

"Well besides you and Delvin, I haven't exactly seen a ton of Bretons walking the streets of Riften. Are you telling me you were born and raised here?" she started laughing at the absurdity of it all. "Oh! Is your mom still up there somewhere? Can I meet her? Let's go!"

She prepared to jump off the barrel before Mercer put his arm out to keep her in place. "Ok, you win."

"Where did you live before you came to Riften, Mercer?" her tone was sharp and pointed, not wanting to have to drag it out of him, although she knew she probably would.

"Before Riften, I was in High Rock." He wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Mmhmm. And before that?" One of her eyebrows was raised in skepticism.

He looked at her with barely concealed surprise. "And what makes you think I'm not from High Rock?"

She leveled a blank stare at him. "Really, Mercer? You're from High Rock? No, not buying it."

"What, why?" his voice was revealing more than he wanted. "I'm a Breton. That's where Bretons are from."

"Mmhmm, yes. Bretons are from High Rock. I have met Bretons from High Rock. You're not a Breton from High Rock."

Mercer stared at her in disbelief. How could she possibly know him this well? "What does that mean?"

"It means that you're not good with people, Mercer." She laughed, softening what could have come across as a jab. "The Bretons I've met from High Rock ooze politics and networking. You're nothing like those Bretons." She hoped he knew she meant that as a compliment.

He nodded as he looked at his boots. "Well I did live in High Rock."

"Right, but you're not  _from_  High Rock," she spoke softer than normal, not wanting him to take offense or get set off by anything she said. "I'm willing to bet your father wasn't a politician or a nobleman, was he?"

"No."

"Exactly. Where did you live before High Rock, Mercer?"

He eyed her suspiciously. This is not how he thought this conversation would end up. He did not like where it was going. "Why do you want to know so bad? Does it bother you that I know something you don't know?" He laughed, trying to distract her. "Do I have information you want? Oh this is rich!"

"Oh we must be getting to the good stuff now!" Kaiya joked, her knees falling to the side to sit cross legged so she could lean forward. "I have my suspicions just as you had yours. I answered your questions honestly, it's only fair that you answer mine the same way."

Damn this woman. She was starting to get under his skin with her consistent prodding. No one else would ever have imagined poking the Guildmaster this far. He spoke softly, where Kaiya could almost not pick up what he said. "The Reach."

"What's that?" she leaned forward, turning her ear to face him to encourage him to speak louder.

"I said I'm from the Reach. That's where I was born."

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" she smiled knowingly. He did not like being on the other side of an interrogation, that was for sure. "So let's see, young baby Mercer in the Reach. Was it a native settlement, Frey?"

"What are you getting at, Kaiya?" his tone was no longer playful.

"I'm getting at the fact that we're not so different, you and I." She smiled back at him victoriously. "You're Forsworn." She braced herself for his inevitable counter attack where he tried to take back control. It was just a matter of time…

"No. Not Forsworn. I'm a native Reachman." He knew it was a cheap shot, but he took it anyway.

"The difference is merely political, Mercer. You know that." Her gaze narrowed, warning him to use caution if he wanted to keep down this route. "I'm a native Reachman just as you are."

"Oh so you finally put together how I was able to guess you were Forsworn so easily?" he scoffed at her. "I was wondering if you'd ever figure out that I have the exact traits I brought up to explain how I came to that conclusion about you. Quick work, Kaiya."

"Oh please," she scoffed at him in return. "Mercer, you're terrible with magic."

"I'm sorry," he teased, "my father was merely a trained fighter. He was no Briarheart. My mother was just another native forager, not a Hagraven in training. Sorry to disappoint."

She didn't rise to the challenge he presented her with his instigation. She merely smiled at him as she sat quietly. Learning the way Mercer worked had its benefits.

"Frey isn't a native surname."

"I changed it. You can do that, you know. You don't have to be stuck with whatever nonsense name your parents gave you."

"I know that," she defended herself. "I don't keep it because I'm an idiot, Mercer. I keep it because that's all I have left of my parents."

"Oh," he looked down, admitting regret for his statement.

"That's right, OH," she joked, taunting him for lashing out at her the way he had. "Enough about me, tell me more! What in the Oblivion, Mercer? Where in the Reach?"

He laughed to himself at the way she said 'what in the Oblivion', pronouncing it as 'thee' Oblivion. It got to him every time she said it. It was just so… Kaiya.

"I don't remember much about it," he answered honestly. "But back then it wasn't like it is now. Not all natives were living in tribes and camps in the hills. Most of that happened after the Markarth incident."

Kaiya was silent, watching Mercer as he spoke. He smirked at her attention before continuing. "My family lived in Karthwasten."

"Karthwasten, really?" Kaiya responded, seemingly surprised. "You're one of those cultured Reachman that grew up in an actual house, aren't you?" She toyed with him a little with her jab, her attempt to out-Reachman the Reachman.

"It was glorious, let me tell you," he said, drily. He cut his eyes to her as he spoke, stressing his sarcasm.

Imagining Karthwasten in her mind caused Kaiya to snicker. It really was a shit hole. "Why'd you leave?"

"My father hated politics." He answered easily, as if it were obvious.

"Go on…" Kaiya spun her finger in a circle in the air, pushing him to continue.

Mercer let out a sigh with just a hint of a laugh. "Like I said, I don't remember much. Just what my parents told me. Natives were killing Nords along the road and Nords were starting to retaliate, taking some of our village's women in the night. It was the slow building of a war and we wanted nothing to do with it. We left and made our way to High Rock, figuring that we could live off my father's skills as a mercenary." He gave her a quick glance out of the corner of his eye, checking to make sure she was still listening.

"How old were you?" Kaiya seemed enthralled by the information he was giving her.

"Oh, eight or nine? I was young."

"Tell me about High Rock." She resumed her position of resting her chin on her knees, the struggle to draw information out of Mercer over for the moment.

He let out a small, nervous laugh as he continued. "I don't know how much you know about High Rock, but I can tell you that my father's gamble didn't pay off very well. Skills like his weren't as useful as kissing ass and gossiping." His disdain for both of those traits seemed to still be prevalent, his voice growing raw as he mentioned them.

"Is that when you started your career as a thief?" Kaiya asked.

"You could say that. It was more like that's when I started learning how to feed myself, but in this case it was one and the same."

Kaiya felt her heart thud at the thought of a starving Mercer, committing his first robberies in order to feed himself. No wonder he was such a good thief. He had no choice.

"When did you come to Skyrim?"

He released an exasperated sigh through pursed lips at her question. "Uh, what's it been? 25 years now?" He rubbed the back of his neck as he thought about it. He sounded old.

She smiled softly at him, feeling the tension in him as he spoke about it. "You look good for an old man," she teased, nudging his leg with her foot. He lazily rolled his head to the side to shoot her a look, his mouth a muted frown. He wasn't buying it.

She laughed at his response before asking a follow up question, "What brought you here?"

"I also joined the guild 25 years ago," he stated. "You can figure it out from there."

"Do you know Ainethach?" her question came out almost as a gasp, as if she just remembered he existed. "The old Breton that owns the mine over at Karthwasten now?"

"Old!?" Mercer retorted, offended. "I grew up with that guy!"

"Oops." Kaiya sunk her head back into her shoulders, baring her teeth in an awkward grimace. "I guess I always just thought of him as old because he's bald. But he's like, used to it, ya know? Like he's been bald for a long time."

Mercer let out a scoff of a laugh at her description, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "His family has owned that mine for longer than anyone can remember. His father was a bit of a slave driver, if I remember correctly. I always felt bad for the guy."

"Hm," Kaiya responded thoughtfully, "that explains the hair loss then."

Mercer shook his head as he smiled at her, "damn, you're more shallow than I thought!"

"What?" she acted surprised at his jab. "Shallow? No, no, no. I may have a ton of flaws, but that's not one of them. I didn't say his bald head made him ugly, it just makes him bald."

Mercer's laughing continued, "just keep digging, Kaiya. You're doing great."

"No really!" she started to snicker a bit at Mercer's reaction. It was contagious. "Did I mention he asked me to marry him?"

Mercer's laughter came to a sudden stop. "He did what now?"

"Yeah," Kaiya didn't get the hint that the time to laugh was over, so she kept going. "After I helped clear some Silver-Blood jackass Nord brutes out of his mine. I don't think he even knew my name."

Mercer laughed off the story but was met with the harsh reality that he had just felt jealous. Jealous! Over a silly native Breton that she laughed about as she described him. He came to the conclusion rather quickly that he did not like that feeling and would rather not ever feel that way again. He had never even thought about her with anyone else since she had been in the guild. Before? Sure, everyone knew Kaiya used sex as a coping mechanism. But since then? He had assumed she hadn't been with anyone, almost as though she was there for whenever he was ready to take her. This new epiphany did not sit well with him.

"We need to talk about your skooma job. It's getting late."

The abrupt change of subject could not have been more obvious if Mercer had just stood up on the barrel and yelled "that story made me jealous!" Kaiya stifled a laugh, dipping her forehead to touch her knees to hide her face so he wouldn't see. Once she regained her composure, she met his eyes, looking at her eagerly to say something to end the painfully awkward silence.

With a laugh still subtly present on her voice, she asked "what about it?"

They spent the next several minutes planning out the job she was to go on in the morning, the job given to her by the Jarl in order to become Thane. They planned her route, her escape, what she would need. Although Kaiya originally felt like he was being a little overbearing with his need to plan every detail, she began to think it was nice to have someone to talk out her plans with. She had never really had that before, besides the followers who accompanied her and did what she told them to do. This was different. They planned as equals.

Once they felt like they had every "what if" situation flushed out, Kaiya decided it was time for her to take her leave of the Guildmaster. She tried to consistently be the first to end their time together. It gave the illusion that she was the elusive one. She hopped off the barrel and stretched out her sore muscles, the nightly training with Mercer was effectively getting her body back to where it was before her "retirement." She caught Mercer watching her out of the corner of her eye and smiled. She had no idea what was happening between them but whatever it was, it was fun.

She patted his leg with one hand while holding his gaze with her own. "Thank you, by the way."

He eyed her skeptically. "For what?"

"For everything. For training with me, for treating me like a person and not just a title." She shot him a shy smile as she looked down, realizing how sappy she sounded. She felt herself squeezing his thigh in nervousness, so she let her hand drop by her side. "You're still an ass though!" she exclaimed, throwing a finger up to point in his face.

To anyone else, Mercer's face showed no expression. To Kaiya however, she noticed the slight crinkling at the corners of his eyes and the ever so subtle softening of his features that told her that her little speech meant something at least. "You're not so bad yourself," he paused, his face morphing into a devious grin "Hawkhart."

She gasped in feigned offense and smacked his shoulder. "Tough talk from a fellow Reachman, FREY," she mocked his chosen surname. "Of all names you could have chosen, you went with Frey? I mean the nerd at Dragonsreach even did better than that with Secret-Fire."

"Well Deep-in-his-cups was already taken, so…" Mercer joked, letting his sentence fade into the training room. Kaiya felt her grin grow wider at his response. It never ceased to surprise her that Mercer had such a sharp sense of humor.

They sat there grinning at each other for a moment, neither one seemingly wanting the night to end. Kaiya finally willed herself to pull away from the conversation, throwing a "goodnight Mercer" over her shoulder. He nodded and told her to come find him when she returned from her mission.

After Kaiya left the training room, Mercer was left alone as usual to ponder his thoughts. They usually bounced around after an encounter with her as he tried to decipher what had just happened but tonight it was clear. He had confided in her, and it didn't kill him. Here he sat, still breathing. While he would normally berate himself in anger at his weakness, tonight was different. He was allowing himself to enjoy it all. If something was developing between himself and Kaiya, so be it. It's not like he had much time left anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always thought it was convenient that Mercer is a Breton and a capable dual-wielder, when you don't see many of those throughout the game.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaiya is one step closer to becoming a Thane of Riften and Mercer is a tease.

_11th of Sun's Dawn 4E203_

Kaiya flung open the doors to Mistveil Keep as the last remnants of twilight cast purple hues along the stones. She limped towards where Jarl Laila Law-Giver sat finishing up her dinner with her steward and found herself wishing she had taken more time to cast at least one more healing spell. L _esson learned_ , she thought to herself.  _Pit wolves aren't grateful if you release them from captivity_.

The nobles that found themselves at the keep that night seemed to purposely look away as Kaiya passed, whispering quietly to each other and glowering at her with judgment. She took note of their reactions, coming to the conclusion that she must look a total disaster. She felt like a disaster. She had succeeded in her mission to wipe out the skooma dealers, but she had definitely underestimated the strength of a few hopped up miners. Her left leg ached tremendously, having taken a pretty ruthless bite from one of the wolves the dealers kept for defense. Or for sport. She wasn't entirely sure of the purpose of all the wolves, but she knew it made her mad to see them caged up the way they had been. Realizing she may have contracted rock joint in the process, she reached into one of the pockets of her guild leathers and pulled out a hawk feather, chewing it down as she limped through the keep. That must have been a social misstep for some reason; the grumbling around her got a bit louder and one of the women in fine clothes at the table actually tutted at her. What was with these people? Had they never met a mercenary before?

Once she reached the Jarl at the head of the table, she loudly exclaimed that she had wiped out the skooma operation nearby and turned to the rest of the table to see if they were all paying attention. They were.

"You're welcome!" she announced to the room, holding out her arms in an elaborate taunt. "Fuckin' Nazeems" she mumbled under her breath, equating every toady in fine clothes in the keep to the infamous cloud district brown noser in Whiterun.

Jarl Laila seemed to find humor in Kaiya's behavior, looking down to stifle a laugh. Kaiya smiled back at her before speaking in a much more private volume, "I'm sorry, but I can't handle people like that. How do you do it?"

The jarl shook her head as she smiled and said "it's all funny really, if you think about it." Her smile turned into a feminine giggle as she covered her mouth. "It has to be funny because if it's not, then it's serious and that is just ridiculous."

Kaiya found herself pleasantly surprised at the personality she was seeing in his Jarl. They were all so vastly different, but Laila may be the first jarl she had met that seemed like someone she could actually have a conversation with. Kaiya went on to tell her the details of what happened and what she had uncovered and Laila seemed genuinely grateful of the effort she had taken.

"I have a reward for you, Dragonborn," Jarl Laila stated as she turned to whisper a command to her steward, "and as I've told you before, I also would like for you to become my Thane. The only thing you have left to do is purchase property. There is a house available right now. If you buy it, the title of Thane is yours."

Kaiya gave the jarl an awkward half smile, "I'd love to be your Thane. Just give me a little longer to save up some money for the house."

The jarl looked surprised at her response, leaning over to whisper to Kaiya privately, "I didn't expect money to be an issue for you, Dragonborn." Seeing Kaiya's reserved expression, Laila seemed to pick up that Kaiya wasn't being entirely honest. "It's not money, is it?" Kaiya shook her head. "Then what's the hold up? I don't understand."

"I just need to handle a few things first," she responded. "I need to get my personal life in order."

Jarl Laila nodded in response, understanding without having to ask further. "I see, well take your time but I can't promise that house will be available for much longer."

"Understood."

Jarl Laila's steward, who had been standing off to the side in order to give their conversation privacy, took this as her cue to present an enchanted sword.

"Dragonborn," Laila announced louder than necessary, wanting to ensure that all of the others in the room that had mocked Kaiya would hear this, "I would like to thank you for what you've done for Riften by presenting you with a weapon from my personal armory."

Kaiya cringed at the use of her Dragonborn title being used this way, but she wasn't one to complain when being presented with a free weapon. She accepted it graciously, giving thanks to the jarl and a nod to the steward who presented it to her. Leaning closer to whisper to Laila, she saw the jarl's bodyguard move his hand to this sword as a warning. "Thank you, and I will let you know about the house as soon as possible, OK?"

Jarl Laila responded with a wink "take your time and don't be a stranger. You should dine with us sometime. That should make for an entertaining evening."

Kaiya grinned at the jarl, grateful to know that there are more people out there that understood her than it seemed sometimes. With a nod, she took her leave from the Keep and made her way towards the secret entrance to the guild, limping as she walked.

Before she reached the entrance, she saw shadows move in the cemetery, indicating that she was not alone. All members of the Thieves Guild had been instructed to never enter if anyone was around, so Kaiya groaned inwardly as she kept walking past the graves. Of all nights to have to keep moving, the night she was limping would be the night.

"What happened to your leg, footpad?"

Kaiya would know that voice anywhere. She spun around to find her Guildmaster leaning against the wall, somehow finding a way to stay within the shadows even as he stood by a torch. Taking a moment to look around to ensure no one else was nearby, she cast another healing spell over herself to try to appease her aching body as well as the concerned Mercer. With the relief brought on by the spell, she found herself able to walk without much resistance over to where Mercer stood against the wall.

"Well look at you," she joked, her eyes roaming over his relaxed form, "out of the cistern! Looks like you took my advice to get out in the real world."

He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. "You're hurt."

She waved him off casually, "psh, nah I'm fine. Just need some rest and a few bottles of mead, that's all."

Her nonchalance did nothing to dissuade his worry. "You shouldn't have gone alone." His brow was furrowed as he stared at her with a look that appeared almost guilty.

"Mercer, I'm fine. It was my fault for being a soft hearted idiot and letting a pack of wolves out of their cages," she laughed, hoping that he would join in and make fun of her like he usually did. His eyebrow raised in response, a hint of his mocking nature finally coming into focus.

"Soft hearted, huh?" he joked as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Why am I not surprised to find out you have a weak spot for animals?"

She shrugged, thankful that he seemed to be a little less worried now. "Everyone's got a soft spot Mercer." She grinned up at him, the light from the torch accentuating the green in his eyes. "I've been searching for yours for a while now."

He just stared back in response, his expression skeptical but with a slight curve in his lips indicating he had found his humor. If she didn't know any better, she would think the look he wore was almost affectionate. He seemed to notice that he was not controlling his features as commandingly as he normally did by the way she was looking back at him, causing him to clear his throat and look down at his boots.

Kaiya noticed his awkwardness and in a gracious attempt to help him out of it, she changed the subject. "So why are you out here, really?"

"I just had a meeting with Maven." His words matched his new expression, cold and severe. "I hope you're not really hurt, because she's picked a day for the Goldenglow job."

Kaiya's heart sank at his words. It was one thing for her to play off her injuries to Mercer, but it was another to think about doing a tough job on her sore body anytime soon.

"When?" she asked quietly, running a hand through her hair and looking at her own boots.

"Tomorrow."

Kaiya's eyes shot back up from the ground to meet his. "Tomorrow?!"

Mercer gave a slow nod in response. "Like I said, I hope you're not really hurt."

"And all this time I thought you cared," she joked, resorting to what she knew how to do best.

"I'm serious Kaiya," he thundered, standing up straight and moving away from the wall towards her. "This isn't a game. Are you going to be able to do the job tomorrow or not?"

She gulped at his anger. He was really worried about this. "Yes Mercer," she said, taking up her best reassuring voice. "I will be fine. I'm fine now."

"Really?" he asked skeptically, "because you look like you might collapse."

"Are you saying I look like shit, Mercer!?" she laughed, slapping him lightly in the chest. His expression only grew more skeptical. "I'm just tired, that's all. I just traveled to this dingy cave full of skooma addled gamblers and had to fight off a bunch of idiots with pickaxes. And that was before I let out the godsdamned wolves!" She laughed, making light of it all once again. "I've faced worse than that by quite a bit, Mercer. That doesn't mean I don't get tired. Like I said, I just need some sleep and mead and I'll be good to go by tomorrow. Promise." She hoped she meant it as much as it sounded like she did.

He stared at her for a moment before responding. "Well I hope you're right, because if you can't get this job done I don't know who can."

"Selling yourself short there, aren't ya?" Kaiya laughed. "You're telling me that the big bad Guildmaster wouldn't stoop so low as to handle a job like this?"

Mercer's face turned staunchly serious, the shadows from the torch revealing the dark circles present under his eyes. "I actually just offered that to Maven." He looked down at his boots, rolling one foot over a loose rock. "I told her I wanted to do it instead of having you do it, but she wouldn't bite."

Kaiya's mouth dropped open in shock. Had he just confessed to offering himself in her place? She knew he'd blow it off and say he offered himself so that it would get done right but she knew better. This was his way of showing he cared.  _What in the Oblivion was happening between them?_ Besides the night they shared in the past, they had not made any moves in regards to a physical relationship but yet here he was, acting altruistically.

The quiet between them stretched longer than either of them intended, both deep in thought as they read between the lines of their conversation. He hoped she wouldn't say what she was thinking out loud. She knew better than to voice her thoughts. It worked for them.

"I guess we've got some planning to do tonight then. Let's go back to the cistern."

"Let's get back to the cistern, but no planning tonight. You need to rest." He began looking around to see if they had any company nearby that would witness their descent into the secret entrance. Kaiya smiled and reached out to touch his forearm, having a much more effective tool in her arsenal for this purpose.

LAAS YAH NIR

Mercer's eyes widened as the night became illuminated with red forms moving throughout the city. He saw a guard-shaped red blotch moving towards the cemetery and was suddenly incredibly grateful for Kaiya's weird skills.

He could tell that she noticed the guard coming their way as well. She was looking around for a place they could hide for the moment, not wanting to bring attention to themselves or give any reason for suspicion this close to the entrance. Too many people in thieves guild armor lurking in a particular area seemed to breed more guard patrols.

Without thinking much of what he was doing, Mercer decided to go with the first idea that popped in his head. He reached out and grabbed hold of Kaiya's arm, pulling her into him. The only indication he gave her that he had a plan was a whispered "go with this, trust me" before leaning down and pressing his lips into hers.

He felt her jolt in surprise at the contact before giving into it in complete understanding of what he had in mind. She let him lead, matching her mouth with his as he kissed her. In a move that felt completely natural, he let his arms wrap around her waist, pulling her against him. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, one handing finding its way into his hair.

They both could feel it. He knew that. This wasn't just an act for the sake of the guard. The guard wouldn't know if he pulled back and bit her bottom lip playfully, but he did it. The guard wouldn't care if she moaned as she pressed herself into him, but she did.

The guard moved past them, mumbling "no lollygagging" as his pace increased, wanting to remove himself from the intimate situation between two residents as quickly as possible. As the guard moved out of range, Mercer felt his lips curving into a smile. He pulled back, leaning his forehead against Kaiya's. Her expression was the exact same. They grinned at each other like idiots, neither moving, neither breaking the contact. Kaiya's hand stayed idly playing with Mercer's hair. Mercer's hands stayed on her back, holding her to him.

"What was that, Mercer?" Kaiya finally broke the silence, smile still on her face.

"You know what it was" he responded, his voice husky and raw as it rumbled from his chest.

Neither of them spoke again but slowly pulled away from each other as they realized that any longer in that position would mean they'd have to actually talk about it. They made their way to the secret entrance and into the cistern, both of their minds a jumbled mess after what just transpired. Little did they know, they were both thinking the exact same thing.

"We've gotta do that again."


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercer and Kaiya prep for Goldenglow and deal with the nerves that come from realizing they're sending her on what could be her last mission. A bit of fluff and intimacy seem necessary.

_12th of Sun's Dawn 4E203_

Kaiya woke naturally, without being startled awake by a nightmare, for the first time in as long as she could remember. In fact, she woke with a grin still on her face from the night before. She opened her mouth to stretch out her tight jaw, wondering if she had been grinning throughout the night. Still smiling, she got up and washed herself in a nearby washbasin before getting dressed for the day ahead. It was going to be a big one.

Mercer had insisted that she rest the night before and refused to do any planning, putting her to bed shortly after they entered the cistern from their rendezvous outside. He told her to find him when she woke and they would plan. At his house. He insisted it was so the cistern didn't "turn into chaos like last time," but she couldn't help but hope it was so he could get her alone again. Still, the thought of being in Mercer's house for the first time made her nervous.  _Nervous and excited_. It was always a surreal experience to see someone's home for the first time - where they slept, where they ate. It was so personal.

Since she had no idea where he lived, he told her he would meet her in the cistern in the morning. She looked up from her sleeping area to find him leaning over the ledger at his desk, as usual. She could not prevent the smile that seemed a now permanent feature as she made her way across the cistern to meet her Guildmaster.

As she approached the desk, she let herself take him in - the way he acted when no one was around. His hair fell into his eyes, causing him to run a hand through it to move the loose strands away from his face. His shoulders hunched forward, his face in the scowl that seemed to be part of his uniform while he was around his guild. A memory flashed into her mind of the night before of his hands, the same hands that now supported his weight against the desk, wrapped around her waist. The memory made her blush, but she quickly put all thoughts of it behind her as she stood before the desk. It was time for business.

He must have felt her presence because he spoke without looking up. "You ready?" he asked, his eyes still on the ledger.

"I'm ready." She refrained from cracking a joke in this moment, knowing that the Guildmaster was supremely nervous about the mission today. She just hoped that the full nights' sleep she had the night before was enough to get her body ready. Her leg didn't hurt when she walked as it had the night before, but she also hadn't had the chance to do anything more than walk across the cistern. She'd have to test it out soon.

Mercer led the way out of the cistern towards his home, which was surprisingly close by. Now she knew. As they approached the front door, she saw the all too familiar shadowmark indicating a member of the Thieves Guild lived here, carved into the wood of the frame. She silently chided herself for not noticing this mark outside this house before. He apparently didn't intend to make his home as much of a secret as it was.

Her anxiety grew as they walked through the front door, immediately meeting a disorganized collection of random household items. As usual, Kaiya decided to break the tension in the only way she knew how.

"So this is the home of the infamous master of the Thieves Guild," she said in a tone of false reverence. His only response was a furrowed brow as he glared at her over his shoulder.

"I finally get to see where you sleep," she continued, acting as though she were starstruck. He ignored her. "I'm actually not convinced you sleep. Do you sleep, Mercer? Or do you just angrily wait?"

She could see a smile forming at the corners of his eyes from her view of his side profile as they made their way through his house. There were a few mercenaries throughout the first few rooms that nodded at him as they traversed through the entrance way and into his bed chamber. He closed the door behind him, causing Kaiya to gulp in nervousness as the sudden isolation.

"So this is where you sleep? I'm sorry, wait. This is where you angrily wait." she looked over at him through the corner of her eye, noticing that he just stared at her. She couldn't tell if he was just eyeing her to see what her reaction would be or if he was eyeing her in response to the way she was teasing him. Either way, it didn't matter.

"I was half expecting you to have another ledger in here that you lean over in your spare time," she commented as she walked around the room, eyeing the contents of his shelves. She heard him scoff in response as he fished out two bottles of mead, setting them on a table in between two chairs set up in front of his fireplace.

"This is a nice place Mercer," she was finally being sincere. She caught his eyes in a moment of playful eye contact before she said "I'm disappointed now that I'm only here for business."

He caught her meaning, raising an eyebrow in response. "You should feel privileged to be here in the first place," he finally spoke. "Only a handful of people outside of these mercenaries have ever stepped foot in here."

"Yeah what's up with those mercenaries?" she asked bluntly, thanking him as he handed her a bottle of mead and directed her to a chair in front of the fireplace.

"Well," he answered, sitting down in the chair next to hers. "I like protecting my things."

"Well that much is obvious," she joked, her eyes no longer roaming the room and instead settled firmly on him. "But I get it, I guess. That's what I have a housecarl for though," she bragged, taking a sip of mead to punctuate her taunt.

He scoffed as he shook his head at her. "Oh yeah? Where's your housecarl in Riften then, Thane?" a smile curled across his lips as he saw her eyes widen at his statement. "Oh wait, you're not Thane yet, are you? Because you haven't bought that damned house."

"How is that your business, Frey?"

His face took on a look of humored authority. "Everything you do in this city is my business, for one. Secondly, the only reason I allowed you to do that job, that got you hurt and almost affected guild business, by the way, was so that you could become a Thane. But then you don't take the last step."

Kaiya swallowed in nervousness as she watched his grin turn devious.  _What was he getting at?_

"It's almost like you would rather sleep in a damp, smelly bed in a godsdamned sewer than sleep in your own home. Why's that, Kaiya?"

_Oh. That's what he was getting at._  Kaiya blushed at how easily he saw through to her motives on not buying the house in Riften yet. He was right. The fact of the matter was that she secretly worried that living outside of the cistern would cause her to become isolated from the guild and that horrified her. Everyone else slept in the cistern or in rooms along the Flagon. If she lived elsewhere, there would be fewer reasons why she should realistically be there. The thought of drifting apart from her new family or even worse, Mercer, was enough to keep her sleeping in that dingy bed in the middle of a populated sewer. And he knew it.

She glared at him with sheer bravado as she racked her brain for an answer. She knew she didn't owe him one, but this was one of those questions that if she didn't have an answer, her silence would be answer enough.

"I have my reasons!" she answered awkwardly.  _Good one, Kai._  "I told you to leave this to me, Frey!"

"Whatever Hawkhart." he laughed, effectively throwing her surname as an insult as she did his. "You're easier to figure out than the rest of the guild thinks."

Realizing it was long past time to change the subject, she did so. "Well I'm not here to talk about my decisions, I'm here to plan for the job tonight. Right, Mercer?"

He just laughed, her answer telling him all he needed to know. "Yes, you're right. You're not here to talk about why you like sleeping in a sewer."

He stood, walked over to a nearby desk and pulled out a slip of paper. He handed it over to Kaiya while returning to his seat. "This is a map of the Goldenglow Estate."

"What's with the bloodstains?" Kaiya asked as she opened the map, tracing her fingers along the dark red smudges.

"It's the same map I gave to Vex."

"Oh," Kaiya mumbled, swallowing the lump that formed in her throat at the thought. The bloodstained map was a sobering reminder of how dangerous this mission promised to be. Silence fell between the two thieves as they studied the map, neither one wanting to discuss Vex's attempt any more.

"So this is the opening to the sewer Vex told us about," Kaiya said as she pointed to an area on the map, circled with charcoal.

"I believe so," Mercer responded, leaning closer to Kaiya as they gazed over the paper. He was close enough that she was able to pick up his scent, his signature mix of water and stone. She stifled a shiver and pushed his chest to make him sit back in his chair. "You can't get that close to me, it's distracting."

"Is that so?" Mercer asked, a predatory grin taking over his expression.

Kaiya sighed heavily, flustered by their current situation. "Normally I would love to humor you by playing along Mercer but right now I've got to figure out how I'm going to get out of this damn meadery alive."

Her statement was like a bucket of ice water, dousing any flirtation the Guildmaster considered throwing at her. She was more right than even she knew. He was highly suspicious that Maven chose this night for the infiltration not because it was the best for stealth, but because it was the worst. She wanted Kaiya dead, it was no longer a theory.

"How do you plan on getting to this area unseen?" he asked solemnly, pointing to the marked area on the map.

A small smile took over her features as she looked at him, a violet swirl forming in her left palm as she readied a spell. "Like this!" she exclaimed before casting it and immediately disappearing from sight.

"Why didn't you tell me you could cast invisibility!?" he roared, his anger outweighing the relief he felt in knowing she was a highly capable illusionist.

A conniving snicker could be heard somewhere in the room. She had moved from the chair. He started looking around wildly, not wanting her to get the better of him with some prank. "I thought we were being serious now, Kaiya!"

"We are." It was a faint whisper, right by his ear. While he could not see her, he felt her breath hit him as she spoke. Another giggle echoed around the room as she scampered away, suddenly becoming visible once more as she took a sip of her mead, sitting next to him as she was before.

His eyes narrowed at her as a silent reprimand. "Good. You still should have told me you were capable of casting that spell, though."

"Oh but it's much more fun having you find out this way," she teased as she opened the map again, shooting him a side glance.

They continued to plan her mission for the next several hours. Mercer's meticulous nature at times becoming almost overbearing as he started to ask about mundane details. They had it all planned, down to the weapons and potions she would carry. She felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth, realizing that some of his neurotic behavior was because he was nervous, not for the mission itself but for her safety. He wouldn't admit it if she pressed him on it, but this is why their relationship worked. He didn't have to say it out loud for her to understand him.

The conversation went along smoothly until he unknowingly stepped onto a very touchy subject with a single question. "What about enchanted jewelry? What's the enchantment on that?" He pointed to the ring she wore around her neck on a chain.

Her fingers instinctively reached up to hold onto it, feeling defensive. "Don't worry about my necklace" was all she stated, cold and void of all emotion.

He held up his hands in surrender, brows furrowed in confusion. "I mean no offense. I just noticed that you always wore it, is all. I thought it must have an enchantment."

"It's enchanted, but that's not why I wear it." She looked down noticing her knuckles were white with how hard she clenched the ring. "I don't want to talk about it, Mercer." Her voice was barely audible.

He sat quietly in shocked surprise at her emotional response to a question about her damn amulet. For all she had trusted him with, for this to be off limits was intriguing to say the least. He dared not push her on it though, not now at least. For now, he needed to calm her already frayed nerves or she would remain a wreck throughout the mission. That didn't bode well for anyone.

"Hey," he spoke softly, a note of genuine caring in his tone. "I'm not going to make you take it off and you don't have to talk about it, okay?" He put his palm to her jaw to lift her face to look at him. "It's okay."

"It's okay," she repeated, her stare still somewhat vacant. After a few more moments of deep thought she relented to his efforts of calming her down and sighed, eyes closed, and leaned into the hand at her jaw. They sat this way for a few moments, Kaiya calming her nerves while Mercer's grew more on edge. What was that all about?

"We've done all the planning we could possibly do," he spoke, still cautious, "but you still have a few hours before it's dark enough for you to head out. Why don't you head to the cistern and finish up any last minute preparations?"

She just nodded, still somewhat on edge. His hand still on her jaw, he let it slide through her hair before disconnecting their contact. They both stood to go and he led her to the back door for a less conspicuous exit. "Come find me here before you leave, okay?"

Kaiya's gaze met his with a look of confusion, leading him to explain himself further. "I just want to see you off before you go, that's all."

She smiled, the playful nature she normally wore taking residence back up on her features. "Deal" was all she said before making her way out of his home and towards the secret entrance of the guild.

Mercer watched her leave, his mind still racing on what he had just seen. He was faced with a dilemma. He had hoped to find a weakness of hers to exploit back when she first joined the guild, but so much had changed since then. He knew if he pushed her on it, she would break and tell him but a sliver of guilt rose up to sit in his stomach. He leaned his head against the doorframe as he watched her walk away, his mind reeling to find a way to deal with all the competing thoughts and emotions that raced through his head. One thought reigned supreme, however. If Maven got her way, Kaiya would not be alive for much longer.

* * *

"Kaiya!" Sapphire called out as the Breton entered the cistern through the secret entrance. "Come meet our newest guild member!"

Kaiya smiled as she approached Sapphire, overhearing the thief lean in to the new recruit and whisper "this is Kaiya, she's one of the best we've got!"

"Hiya new blood!" Kaiya remarked to the new member of their guild, "I'm Kaiya."

"So I've heard," the recruit stated emotionlessly. "I'm Ravyn. Ravyn Imyan."

Nervously, Sapphire interjected a whisper to the underwhelmed Kaiya. "It's about time we recruited more dark elves, eh?"

Kaiya didn't respond, a confused look still on her face as she glowered at the new recruit.  _How about show a little respect_ , she thought.

"I don't know, you don't look so impressive to me. You're no Gray Fox, but you must be doing something right to be getting 'the biggest job we've had in years' as they say." His arms crossed over his chest as he cocked his hip out to the side, an obvious effort to try to gain control of the conversation.

"Right." Kaiya responded drily. "Well this was nice. I'm going to go finish planning for 'the biggest job we've had in years' or whatever" she joked as she took her leave, walking away from the frustrating Dunmer.

_Oh, so he was one of those dark elves_ , she thought to herself. While she had never made it a secret that she had an affinity for the Dunmer, she never ceased to become annoyed at those who acted like they were better than everyone else or like they were on a quest to prove their superiority. That type of behavior was expected from a Thalmor, but a dark elf in the cistern? It didn't work here.

She made her way to the Flagon to spend some time with Delvin before her big job. He was always able to calm her nerves in a way that no one else could. Well, no one else but Mercer, as crazy as that was.

She plopped down across the table from Delvin, surprising everyone as she turned down a bottle of mead. "Can't tonight boys," she joked, "I've gotta be ready to leave for Goldenglow in a few hours."

Raised eyebrows met her from the others in the Flagon, none of which were previously aware that tonight was the night. She smiled at the way they began asking questions all at once - Mercer was right to schedule their planning session out of earshot of the worrying thieves.

"We've got it all under control boys, no need to squirm about, really." Vekel scoffed at her response. He hated it when she patronized him, which is exactly why she did it. Delvin just smiled at her knowingly. He always knew more than he let on.

"Heard you got an invite to Riftweald Manor today" he said, his eyes trained on her face to read her response. She felt her glare narrow at him playfully.

"Yeah, super intense planning session." She left her description vague on purpose to let him have his fun. He seemed to really like the idea of Kaiya and Mercer spending time together.

He gave Kaiya an impressed nod before taking a sip from his tankard. "Aye, I bet it was." A twinkle of mischief was barely visible in his blue eyes. Silence fell over them for a moment while they communicated only in facial expressions. She loved the way they could do this.

"What's up with the new recruit, Delvin?" she asked when their previous conversation seemed to reach its end. "He seems like a real jackass."

Delvin smiled at her question, "give the guy a break, love. Think back to how it felt when you first joined up, wantin' to prove yourself."

"Was I that much of an ass?"

"Yes!" the response came from Vekel, yelling over at them from behind the bar.

Kaiya let out a laugh at his answer. "Not asking you, Vekel!"

"See? You're still are an ass, Kai!" she shot him a glare and he grinned back, his face showing his intention was merely to joke.

"What happened to make you ask that, Kai?" Delvin asked, bringing them back to the topic at hand.

"Eh, I don't know," Kaiya brushed it off, not wanting to make too big of a deal out of nothing. "He just reminded me of one of the inmates in Cidhna Mine that would grab a shiv as soon as they got in to show everyone they could defend themselves."

"You spend a lot of time in Cidhna Mine?" His face was amused, as if there were far more interesting things to speak about than the new recruit.

"Oh how many of us haven't spent time in a jail cell?" she deflected his question. "Whether it be Cidhna Mine or the dungeons in Falkreath, they're all the same."

"I don't know about that love," Delvin responded calmly, taking another sip from his tankard. "But whatd'I know?"

Kaiya just shrugged, not wanting to keep up the conversation about the infamous prison of Markarth any more. She was self conscious about any mention of the Reach now that Mercer had figured her out, especially speaking to another very observant Breton as she did now.

He seemed to notice her desire to let it go, so he diverted the topic. "You ready for tonight, love?"

"As ready as I'm gonna be," she answered honestly, absentmindedly spinning the ring she wore around her neck. "I should actually start getting my things together soon, but I wanted to distract myself for a moment first."

"Somethin' troublin' ya? I'll listen."

A soft smile spread across her lips as she focused on a loose string from her glove. "Nah, it's not like that. Just the jitters before a big job, is all."

"I'm gonna tell you somethin', but if you tell anyone I told ya this, I'll deny it," Delvin whispered, leaning towards her across the table. "You're one of the best damn thieves in the place. You're the one for this job. Now don't get me wrong, Vex is amazin' at what she does, but you were born for this line of work, Kai."

Kaiya felt her cheeks grow hot and tears form in the corners of her eyes at the praise she was receiving from someone she respected. She was never good at receiving compliments. "You ass," she joked, hitting his arm across the table. With one hand, she dabbed the moisture away from her eyes before they betrayed her further.

He just smiled with pure affection in response. "I meant every word, love."

They spent a little while longer talking and joking to ease her tension before she forced herself to stand to take her leave from the conversation. It was time.

"I'm surprised boss isn't down here to see ya off," Delvin asked, looking around.

"He asked me to swing by his house before I left," she responded, throwing a piece of Delvin's bread into her mouth with a wink.

"Ah, I see" Delvin teased before turning serious. "Humor him with this, Kai. If he's feeling even a fraction of what I felt when we saw Vex off, he needs this more than you know."

Kaiya's face showed her surprise at his comment. "It's a little different Delv, we're not like you and Vex."

"Ah come off it Kai," he teased, "you don't have to play tough with me."

"No," she looked around, making sure no one could overhear before she whispered "we're not in a relationship."

"Neither are we," he gave her a wise smile, "don't get too caught up in the minutiae of it all love, you know what's goin' on."

He gave her one last smile before turning to head towards the bar, effectively giving her the opportunity to take her leave. She turned and made her way to her designated trunk by the foot of her designated bed. She rummaged around before pulling out the weapons her and Mercer had decided she would bring - her sword, dagger and bow, all dragonbone. She collected a few of the potions they had agreed upon as well, not wanting to drag herself down with too many sloshing bottles in her pack. She put the finishing touches on her wardrobe by attaching her hood and made her way out of the cistern. No one else knew tonight was the night, so no one else found the need to wish her off. It was better that way. It's not like she could concentrate anyway after what Delvin had just dropped on her.  _Talk about a heavy conversation, sheesh_.

She made her way out of the secret entrance and walked around to the back door of Riftweald Manor, the fancy name of Mercer's house. She knocked in the pattern he had taught her to signify it was her, before the door swung open and a casually clad Mercer stood in the doorway. She felt her heart tug a bit at the sight of him. He was barefoot and wearing nothing but his trousers and an undershirt, the exact same wardrobe he had adorned the night she shared with him in the Bee and Barb.

He waved for her to enter and enter she did, walking past him and catching his scent. It was almost overwhelming when it wasn't covered up by his guildmaster leathers. She could get used to this casual Mercer. She was a fan.

He stepped behind her to help her take off her pack and weapons so she could sit comfortably with him while they waited until it was time for her to leave. As he slid the pack from her, she could feel his hands graze her neck and back, even through her armor. The contact made her shiver, the touch almost sparking as they touched each other. The tension building between them was reaching its boiling point; it couldn't last the way it had been for much longer.

They made their way to his bedroom and he closed the door behind her. If she wasn't about to go on a job that had almost killed her fellow guild member, she would have been much more excited. She walked around the room, taking in everything that Mercer found important enough to place on his shelves. It was the little things like this that drove her mad - what made him tick? Why did he have giant antlers on his wall? Why was his house named Riftweald Manor? It was this, the natural curiosity of everything about the man, that made Delvin's words ring in her mind.  _You know what's going on_. He was right. She was falling for Mercer.

She turned and looked over her shoulder at him as he stood leaning against the door frame. The light from the sconces danced along his form, casting a soft light onto his features. He really was an attractive man. She approached him where he stood, looking up to make eye contact. She could feel her movements take on a much more feminine sway, her body preparing itself to do something much different from the sneaking and thieving that was in her immediate future. She'd have to save this moment for later. At least it would give her something to look forward to coming back to.

He seemed to notice the change in her as well, his expression taking on an intrigued gaze. Of all times for her to look at him like that, this was the worst possible moment. What could he do about it anyway?

"We don't have much time." It was as much of a statement of fact as it was a warning. "You'll need to leave soon."

"I know" she responded, looking down as she played with the hem of his shirt.

"Hey," he spoke softly, pulling down her hood with one hand and lifting her face to look at him with the other. "It's going to be fine."

She felt her eyes swell with moisture at the tenderness of the way he spoke to her. Maybe Delvin was right. Maybe he did need this. He took the tears in her eyes to be a sign of fear, so he moved both of his hands to cradle her face. "Hey, none of that." He spoke almost sternly now, attempting to command away her emotion. "You're ready for this. You'll be back in no time."

"I know, it's not that. It's just," she found herself pausing as she figured out a way to say what she was thinking. "I need to do something before I leave."

"What? What is it?"

She locked her gaze onto his and in an instant, he knew what she wanted. He let one hand fall from her face and placed it on the small of her back, gently pulling her towards him. The other hand stayed on her face, his thumb rubbing patterns on her cheek. Both of her hands clutched at his shirt as they stared at each other, giving this moment space to take its time. Timidly, she raised up on her toes as he bent down, letting their lips meet in the middle. He kissed her slowly and she matched his pace, letting her lips form to his and releasing all control to him. He felt her softly moan into him as his hand slid around to the back of her neck, bracing her against him as his intentions became known in his movements. They both let this moment do the speaking for them, all of their worries, fears, wants and feelings coming to the surface and exploding in the sparks that seemed to surround them. She let her hands wander around to his sides, feeling his breathing beneath her fingers as she roamed around his body. She breathed in his smell, water and stone, letting it consume her from the inside out. She concentrated on his taste and the way his body felt under her hands, wanting to lock this moment in her memory forever.

Before their kiss had the chance to become too eager, Mercer slowly pulled back, sensually biting her bottom lip as he smiled, resting his forehead against hers. She smiled in return as they stood there, neither pulling away, neither wanting this moment to end.

"Right when it was getting good, too" Kaiya softly spoke, her words breathy with want as she continued to grasp at his shirt.

"Well now, I've gotta give you something to come back for." His voice was husky and deep, rolling out in waves that she could feel under her fingers.

She exhaled a laugh. "I wouldn't worry about that if I were you."

"Oh yeah? What should I be worried about then?" His voice was the deepest she'd ever heard it, and it caused her to shiver. He noticed, letting rumbling chuckle escape his chest in response.

"Be worried that I won't be able to keep my hands off you next time," she threatened, her hands sliding under his shirt to accentuate her meaning.

"Threaten me with a good time" he joked with a laugh.

After a few more heartbeats of basking in their stolen moment, they both knew it had to come to an end. Mercer straightened his posture, gliding his hands from around Kaiya and grabbing her hands that had found their way under his shirt, removing them from his body. She frowned comedically at the loss of touch, but he just laughed and tsk'd at her, reminding her that she had work to do. The atmosphere had taken on a much lighter feel, allowing both thieves to breathe freely in relief. The pressure was gone.

He walked her out of his bedroom and back out into the common area where he had stashed her pack and weapons. Helping her put it all back on he laughed as he handed over her sword. "Better grab your boyfriend," he joked. She laughed, sheathing the sword in its rightful place.

"Do you have little friend?" he asked, but Kaiya couldn't tell if he was being serious or not with his question. The thought of him referring to her weapons by their names without cracking a joke about it made her smile.

In just a matter of minutes, she was packed, prepared and ready to go. She stood at the door in anticipation to leave. How do you say goodbye in a situation like this?

Mercer reached over and added the final touch to her ensemble, pulling her hood back up and covering her wild mane of blonde hair. It was a simple gesture, but it felt intimate. Intimate and final.

Kaiya wasn't good at this sort of thing, so she decided the best way to handle it was to cut it short and let it go, not drag it out any longer. "Well, before this gets awkward, I'm going to leave" she smiled at him and he returned the gesture, appreciative of her ability to make any situation lighter.

Before she turned to go, she went up on her toes and placed her lips to his once more in a slow, teasing, almost chaste kiss. "How's that for giving you something to look forward to, huh?" she teased before turning and walking away. She shot one final glance over her shoulder at the smirking Guildmaster as she made her way out of his line of sight. With a deep breath to steel her resolve, she continued her journey out of the city gates and onward to Goldenglow Estate.


End file.
